Apart from connecting Dhaka and Mongla seaport through the Jamuna Multi-purpose Bridge, the two bridges will also help establish uninterrupted road communication with neighbouring India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Sources said 16-km approach roads have already been built on both sides of the 1.8-km Pakshey Bridge running between Bheramara and Iswardi. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will inaugurate the bridge in March 2004.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has provided most of the finances for both projects -- Tk 820 crore out of the total project cost of Tk 1,065 crore for Pakshey Bridge and Tk 435 crore out of Tk 551 crore for the Rupsha bridge.

The government component of the cost was used mainly for acquisition of 120 hectares of land as well as tax and customs duty for raw materials import. Project officials said 1,500 people, who account for 95 percent of land owners, have already been given compensation of about Tk 28.50 crore through a non-governmental organisation.

The rest of the land victims are yet to be paid because of a dispute over land documents, they said.

At less than 1 percent interest rate, the loans are repayable in 30 years with a 10-year grace, said Tomohiro Hamada, JBIC representative in Dhaka.

The Major Bridge Engineering Bureau of China began construction of the Pakshey Bridge in August 2000. Some 300 Chinese technicians and 1,400 local workers have been working round the clock to build the massive bridge, some 300 metres from the existing Hardinge Railway Bridge.

The concrete bridge will have 17 spans running parallel to the Hardinge Bridge designed to protect the massive structure from strong currents during monsoon.

"Each of the 91-metre-long pillars of the bridge has a diameter of three metres. Such a large diameter has been chosen to counter the severe turbulence in Padma," said Robert Aves, a bridge expert and consultant engineer for Pakshey Bridge project.

Chris Round, leader of the team of engineers, said 2,500 vehicles could cross the bridge daily and predicted a minimum 100-year life span for the bridge.

He said extensive training programmes have been taken up for its proper maintenance.

"The latest bridge technologies have been used for Pakshey Bridge including Tk 11 crore worth of shock absorbing units to protect it from earthquakes measuring up to 7 on the Richter scale," said Anwar Ahmed, the project director.

The four-lane bridge will also have gas, electricity and telephone line transfer facilities, Ahmed told a group of journalists.

The bridge will ease huge traffic jams caused by thousands of vehicles lined up at Pakshey ferry terminal. Besides, the problem of dealing with emerging shoals on the river to keep ferries running will also be avoided.

Only a portion of earth-filling to link the bridge with the approach road on the West, construction of road dividers and installation of lighting facilities remain to be completed before the inauguration in two to three months, Ahmed said.

Construction of two toll plazas on both sides of the bridge is progressing rapidly. The government has also floated a tender for appointment of private firms for vehicular toll collection.

Anwar said the toll rate would be moderate, which will help recover the cost of construction within 25-30 years.