CHITTAGONG: The 3rd Karnaphuli Bridge in the port city was built mostly with the rods of Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills (BSRM), a leading steelmaker of the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the bridge at 11am Wednesday.

A total of 2700 metric tonnes of iron rods of different grades from the Chittagong-based company BSRM were used in the construction of the ‘cable-stayed extra-dozed’ bridge at an approximate cost of Tk 13 crore. The total expenditure of the bridge was Tk 380 crore.

Foreign contractor China Major Bridge Engineering Company Ltd imported Chinese-made rod at the first stage of the construction works.

But the Communications Ministry and experts stepped to examine the quality and technical sides of the local BSRM rods, facing price hike on the international market. After the probing, the contractor decided to use this rod in the construction.

BSRM has supplied almost 92 percent rods for the construction work of the bridge from 2006 to 2009.

Chairman of BSRM group Alihussain Akberali said, “We are happy as our rods were used for the country’s important bridge over the Karnaphuli River.”

He added BSRM rods were supplied for the Meghna-Gumati bridge on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway, Jamuna Fertilizer factory of Jamalpur, KAFCO and CUFL of Chittagong, Chittagong International Airport, Chittagong New-mooring Container Terminal and some other important establishments of the country.  

He also said, "We never compromise on the quality of product in serving the nation.”

Engineer Bidhan Chandra Dhar, Project Director of the bridge, also said the 950-metre-long and 24.47-metre-wide Karnaphuli bridge was constructed mostly with the BSRM rods.

BDST: 2141HRS, SEP 6, 2010