Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday received over Tk315 crore in the fifth and sixth instalments of a loan taken out for the construction of the Padma Bridge.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader handed the prime minister a cheque for Tk3,15,07,53,442 at Ganabhaban, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told the media.

The Bridges Division has so far paid back Tk9,48,01,19,585 to the government in six installments.

The Padma Bridge was built with Bangladsh’s own funding at a cost of over Tk32,605 crore.

On April 5, the division began the repayment of the loan with Tk3,16,90,97,050 from the revenue it had earned in tolls from the bridge in the first and second instalments.

On June 19, the Bridges Division paid repaid Tk3,16,02,69093 in the third and fourth instalments.

The loan was taken out from Bangladesh Bank at a low interest rate under an agreement signed between the Finance Division and the Bangladesh Bridge Authority.

On June 25, 2022, the prime minister opened the country’s largest bridge – the 6.15-km Padma Bridge – over the mighty Padma River.

dhakatribune