What is Lalon Shah Bridge?
'''Lalon Shah Bridge''' is the second longest bridge in [[Bangladesh]]. Prime Minister Begum [[Khaleda Zia]] inaugurated the bridge at a ceremony held at Paksey. The bridge directly connects the north-western and south-western regions of the country by road. The river Padma had separated the two regions. The 1.8 K.M long bridge has been constructed parallel to historic Hardinge Railway Bridge over the river Padma with the financial assistance from [[Japan]]. To construct the bridge, the Government of Japan through JBIC extended soft ODA Yen loan to Bangladesh in two phases. The first phase loan agreement was signed between Bangladesh and Japan on July 01, 1997 while the second phase loan agreement on March 31, 2001. The total cost of the bridge is US $ 184 million of which JBIC contributed US $ 141 million, which is about 80% of the total cost. An inauguration ceremony was held at the bridge site at Paksey on May 18, 2004. Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia was the Chief Guest while Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh H.E. Mr. Matsushiro Horiguchi spoke as the special guest. Mr. Ryutaro Koga, Deputy Director General of JBIC [[Tokyo]] read out the message from JBIC Governor Mr. Kyosuke Shinozawa in the ceremony. Mr. Tsutomu Uchida, Chief Representative of JBIC Dhaka was present, among others, in the function. The Lalon Shah Bridge has some of the deepest concrete piles in the world and the longest continuous segmental deck in the world, erected by using the balanced cantilever technique. [[Category:Buildings and structures in Bangladesh]] [[Category:Bridges in Asia]]