Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday took stock of the progress of the Bogibeel Bridge project over the river Brahmaputra here and expressed confidence that the country’s longest rail-cum-road bridge should be ready for commissioning in another 3-4 months.
“The Bogibeel Bridge that will connect the twin districts of upper Assam–Dibrugarh and Dhemaji– is likely to be completed in another 3-4 months time. The bridge will usher in a new era of economic development in the region apart from strengthening the national security in the border areas. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for transforming and empowering the North East through better connectivity,” Sarma said. Sarma was accompanied by Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah.
The minister was apprised by senior railway officials present at the construction site that more than 95% progress has been made on the bridge so far.
The minister’s visit came a day after the announcement by Union Railway minister Piyush Goyal that the Bogibeel Bridge will be opened for public by October 2018.
The railway minister while interacting with reporters across India via video-conferencing had conveyed that there will be no further delay in the mega project.
On April 21, 2002, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had inaugurated the construction work of the bridge five years after ex-PM HD Deve Gowda laid the foundation stone of the bridge on January 22, 1997.
The sluggish pace of work and a slew of failed deadlines have already shot up the project cost from the initial Rs 1,767 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
Union Railway minister Goyal on Monday during an interaction with reporters of Guwahati through video conference said that the Bogibeel bridge will be opened for public in October in this year.
