Construction of a Bridge in a Developing Country: A Bangladesh Case Study

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of the construction of the Jamuna Bridge, the 11th longest bridge in the world. The bridge crosses the Jamuna River (the main channel of the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh) from Bhuapur on the east bank to Sirajganj on the west, linking the eastern and northwestern parts of Bangladesh. In addition to two carriageways with two lanes each for road transport, the bridge also carries a dual-gauge (meter-gauge and broad-gauge) rail track, a 750-mm-diameter natural gas pipeline, and a 230-kV electrical transmission line across the river. Built at a cost of about $950 million, the Jamuna Bridge is one of the most expensive infrastructure facilities in the Third World. This project posed various challenges to the government of Bangladesh and the international agencies involved. Technical, financial, social, and political challenges had to be overcome, yet despite the complexity and inherent difficulty of this megaproject it is considered a success story. The factors that contributed to the successful construction of the Jamuna Bridge in Bangladesh are chronicled in this paper.