4 trillion Bangladesh Bridge built by China... Korea solved the difficult problem, hit the jackpot [K-Road to the World ①]

[Padma Bridge high pass demonstration scene. Correspondent Kang Gab-saeng]

 

 

On the afternoon of the 13th, it was raining on the Padma Bridge near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The bridge, which crosses the huge Padma River with a width of only 6 km, began construction at the end of 2014 and opened in June of last year after nearly 8 years of construction. The scenery with large and small boats floating made me feel as if I was crossing the sea rather than the river.

 

  Like Yeongjong Bridge in Korea, Padma Bridge, which was built by the Bangladesh government with an investment of nearly 4 trillion won, is a complex bridge with trains on the first floor and cars on the second floor. It was a bold investment that is difficult to find in Bangladesh, where the annual budget is only 80 trillion won. That is why it is said to be the pride of Bangladesh so much that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina often visits it.

 

 

Korea Expressway Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Korea Expressway Corporation) is planting the soul of 'K-Road' in Padma Bridge. The potters were in charge of managing and operating the entire 20km section including the bridge (6.15km). Starting from May of last year, it will be responsible for traffic and operation management, accident handling, and toll collection of the Padma Bridge for five years until 2027. The service cost alone from the client is over 100 billion won.

 

  Construction was in full swing at the 'Mawa Sales Office' before crossing the Padma Bridge. We were in the process of installing the same high-pass lanes and card-based toll collection system as our expressway sales office. Currently, almost all tolls in Bangladesh are paid in cash.

 

 

Yoon Hyeon-tak, deputy manager of the Bangladesh Project Group (hereafter referred to as the Project Group), said, “Currently, the client is using a temporary toll collection system, but when the related construction is completed, the same system as in Korea will be operated.” It was manufactured and imported in Korea." These systems are scheduled to be officially operated around the 5th of next month.

 

  At the office near the Mawa office, the construction of the Traffic Monitoring Center (TMC) was in progress.STraffic, a small and medium-sized company, is in charge of establishing a system that can grasp the traffic volume, traffic status, and toll collection status of the Padma Bridge at a glance through closed-circuit TV (CC-TV).

 

For the management and operation of the Padma Bridge, the pottery has entered into partnerships with 15 small and medium-sized companies in Korea. It is said that a domestic company was also in charge of the interior of TMC. Lim Ho, branch manager of S-Traffic Bangladesh, explained, “If our Hi-Pass system is opened, it will be the first time in Bangladesh that vehicles will run without stopping and be paid for tolls.”

  The Padma Bridge toll is 1,300 Dhaka (about 15,000 won) for a minivan, which is 10 times higher than other roads. It is 2.3 times more expensive than the Incheon International Airport Expressway (36.5 km, 6600 won). Rumor has it that the government set a high toll to recover the investment as it was built with a huge amount of money borrowed.

 

 

The spread of 'K-Road' is not limited to the Padma Bridge. The right to manage and operate the 55km section of the ‘N8 Highway’ that connects the Padma Bridge back and forth was also won by the Korean Ceramic Works. They receive about 100 billion won for service for five years.

 

High-pass and card-based toll collection systems, similar to Padma Bridge, are being installed at Dulleshori and Banga offices on the N8 highway connecting Dhaka to Banga in the southwest. In the future, the N8 highway will be connected to Calcutta, India.

 

Park Jin-woo, head of the Project Group, said, “Since the N8 highway is a road that connects to the front and back of the Padma Bridge, we succeeded in convincing the Bangladeshi government that it would be more efficient for us to take charge of the N8 highway one after another for the continuity of management and operation and the introduction of new technologies.”

  It is not only because of the state-of-the-art system that the people of Bangladesh are paying attention to the Padma Bridge. This is because Bangladesh has hired female receptionists, which is unusual. In Bangladesh, where jobs are scarce, it is more difficult for women to find jobs, and men have been in charge of collecting bills.

  A total of 14 female cashiers, 8 and 6, respectively, are currently working at the two offices installed on the Padma Bridge. Munni Atta (23), a cashier I met at the site, said, “This is my first job after graduating from college, and the working environment is so good that everyone around me envy me. I hope women will have more opportunities to work.” The N8 Expressway is also planning to hire female cashiers.

 

 

Lee Hang-jin, deputy director of the Project Group, said, "When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a former women's rights activist, comes to the Padma Bridge, she deliberately places female cashiers to collect tolls, and the response from the local community is very good." They are also helping,” he said.

  In addition, the project team is focusing its efforts on preventing cheating and leakage of tolls, such as detecting and firing 20 cashiers who only received tolls and did not issue receipts through the installation and verification of CCTVs. Kim Hee-do, head of the Bangladesh branch of Kunhwa Engineering, expected, “Pottery will play a big role in promoting and exporting our excellent road operation management system in the local area.”

 

 

The story of the pottery winning the right to manage and operate the Padma Bridge and N8 Expressway, which is said to be the largest national project in Bangladesh, dates back to 2014. At that time, Dogong formed a consortium with domestic engineering companies and Bangladeshi companies to take charge of the Padma Bridge supervision service.

  However, it is said that the construction of Pamad Bridge, which was undertaken by a Chinese company, was quite difficult. Even after digging more than 100m into the bottom of the Padma River and driving piles, it was still very soft, so it was very difficult to secure support. The client, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, sought advice from renowned European institutions, but could not find a sharp solution.

 

[Dogong is also changing the safety management culture of highway workers. Correspondent Kang Gab-saeng]

 

In such a difficult situation, the Road Traffic Technology Institute of the Korea Metropolitan Government and the Korea University Geotechnical Research Team collaborated to find a way to secure the bearing capacity essential for bridge construction by applying the grouting method of adding a 'U'-shaped concrete structure to the bottom of the pile.

  Thanks to that, the Padma Bridge was built safely, and we were able to win the right to manage and operate it by gaining the trust of the client. Gwaji Muhammad Ferdos, head of the Bangladesh National Bridge Authority, said, "In the process of constructing the Padma Bridge, we confirmed the potter's technology and achievements, and we were entrusted with the management and operation." Director Park Jin-woo said, "We plan to advance into other highways that are currently being built based on the management and operation of the Padma Bridge and the N8 highway."

 

Reporter Kang Gap-saeng, specializing in transportation kkskk@joongang.co.kr