It is very disappointing to see the fate of numerous bridge projects initiated by the former Awami League government years ago, but left unfinished due to planning, design, and management failures. The Tk 1,042-crore bridge over the Payra river in Patuakhali is a case in point. Scheduled for completion by the end of 2023, the 1.6-kilometre bridge was expected to provide a direct road link from Patuakhali to Khulna and Mongla via Pirojpur. Nearly three years after the deadline, the project remains far from complete, with physical progress at 26 percent.
Across the country, people continue to suffer because bridges remain unfinished or unusable despite substantial public spending. In Chattogram’s Fatikchhari, the incomplete Panchpukuria-Siddhashram bridge has left around 25,000 residents facing severe travel difficulties. Locals reportedly rely on a bamboo footbridge in the dry season and boats during the monsoon. In Pabna’s Faridpur, the main structure of a Tk 1.06-crore bridge has been completed, but the road to approach it remains unfinished even after the deadline expired, forcing locals to build a bamboo footbridge to reach it.
Faulty design is another recurring problem in bridge projects. In Jashore, for example, construction of eight bridges across four rivers has remained stalled for more than two years after it emerged that their designs did not meet the required clearance for waterways. The bridges, costing Tk 41.71 crore in total, were designed without approval from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, and their girders are reportedly only 6–8 feet above the highest water level, against the required 15 feet. This is a stark example of how inadequate planning and failure to follow established rules can turn development projects into costly failures. Equally concerning is the amount of public money that has been wasted on structures that remain incomplete and unusable.
Many of these projects were undertaken by the Awami League government and left unfinished following the political changeover in August 2025. But now that a new government has assumed office, it must urgently resolve the problems holding up these projects and ensure that communities do not have to wait indefinitely for essential infrastructure. The authorities must update the feasibility studies of these projects to address the changing conditions, properly scrutinise designs and secure all necessary approvals before construction resumes. They must also hold contractors, consultants, and government agencies accountable for their failure to complete projects on time.
Most importantly, the government must learn from these failures and ensure that future projects are properly planned, completed within the stipulated time and cost, and deliver the benefits promised to people.
