Korea Expressway Corporation announced today that it has signed an operation and management contract for the Bangladesh Padma Bridge worth 100 billion won on April 27.
The Padma Bridge is the largest national project in Bangladesh, consisting of a four-lane road at the upper level and a railroad at the lower level. Construction began in 2014 and is expected to open at the end of June this year.
This contract is the first case of an overseas road operation management project through intergovernmental cooperation.
The Korea Expressway Corporation will install the high-pass and intelligent traffic management system on the Padma Bridge and perform tasks such as toll collection, road and structure maintenance, safety patrol and disaster management for five years after opening.
So far, Korea Expressway Corporation has formed a mutually friendly relationship with the Bangladesh government by sharing road operation and management know-how.
In particular, since 2014, the company has been conducting the construction supervision project of the Padma Bridge construction site, and its technological prowess has been recognized.
With the opening of the Padma Bridge, the travel time between Dhaka, Bangladesh and Calgotta, India, on section 1 of the Asian Highway, has been shortened by more than 4 hours, which is expected to accelerate trade in Southwest Asia and development of the southwestern part of Bangladesh.
The Asian Highway is an international highway network of over 140,000 km connecting 32 countries on the Asian continent.
Meanwhile, the Korea Expressway Corporation also concluded final negotiations with the Bangladesh Highway Authority for the operation and management of the N8 Expressway, which is connected to the Padma Bridge.
