The Rupsha Rail Bridge, part of the Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line Project being taken up under the government of India Line of Credit (LOC) extended to the government of Bangladesh, was completed on 25 June this year.
The Rupsha Rail Bridge is a 5.13 kms broad-gauge single-track railway bridge constructed by Indian EPC Contractor M/s L&T and has connected Khulna with the Mongla port city via a rail line.
The bridge has been constructed over the Rupsha tidal river, and this was a challenging engineering feat as it required specialised base grouting technology for piling work.
Some 856 pile foundations were constructed on viaduct sections and 72 pile foundations were constructed for the steel bridge section with an average pile length of 72 m.
The bridge also has additional features such as navigation fenders piles upstream and downstream of the pier, for ensuring navigation safety in the river.
The navigational clearance for the main bridge is more than 18 m from Standard High-Water Level (SHWL). The construction materials for the steel bridge superstructure were imported from India using road, sea and inland rivers.
The Rupsha railway bridge and the Khulna-Mongla port rail line will greatly facilitate the to and fro transportation of goods and the enhanced connectivity and accessibility to Mongla Port will improve market access for local businesses including for agricultural produce of farmers in the region.
It is also expected to positively impact tourism to prominent spots in the south-western part of Bangladesh.
Government of India has extended four LOCs to Government of Bangladesh worth USD 7.862 billion. 42 projects have been taken up under these LOCs so far, of which 14 projects have been completed and the rest are at various stages of implementation.
Disbursements under these LOCs touched the milestone of USD 1 billion as on the closing of the Indian financial year in March 2022 and disbursements are set to touch USD 1155 million as on the close of the Bangladeshi financial year on 30 June 2022.