The Bangabandhu-1 (BD-1), will be the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications satellite operated by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) which is scheduled to launch in 2017. It is expected to be located at 119° East longitude geostationary slot. It will be built by Thales Alenia Space. The total cost of the satellite is 248 million US dollars (Tk 1,951 crore). Bangabandhu-1 carries a total of 40 Ku and C-band transporders and capacity of 1600 megahertz with life span of 15 years Bangabandhu-1 is scheduled to be launched in December 2017 on a Falcon 9 rocket.
The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail bridge across the Padma River to be constructed in Bangladesh. It will connect Louhajong, Munshiganj to Shariatpur and Madaripur, linking the south-west of the country, to northern and eastern regions. Padma Bridge is the most challenging construction project in the history of Bangladesh. The two-level steel truss bridge will carry a four-lane highway on the upper level and a single track railway on a lower level.[1] With 150 m span, 6150 m total length and 18.10 m width it is going to be the largest bridge in the Padma-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins of country in terms of both span and the total length.
Component of the project :
Main Bridge River Training Works(RTW) Janjira Approach Road & Selected Bridge End Facilities Mawa Approach Road & Selected Bridge End Facilities Service Area-2 Resettlement Environment Land Acquisition CSC(Main Bridge & RTW) CSC(Approach Roads & Service Area-2) Engineering Support & Safety Team(ESST)
Current status of project[edit] Around 39% construction work of the 6.15-kilometre-long two-tier Padma Multipurpose Bridge has been completed.The China Major Bridge Engineering Corporation (MBEC), which was appointed for the main bridge, will carry out the work. The soil testing and dredging works have been going on for the last four months for the river training.The bridge will have a total of 42 pillars. Each will have six piles beneath. Steel spans will be placed on the pillars. The bridge will have a total of 41 spans.
Work on the Padma Bridge is broadly divided into five parts—the main bridge, river training, two link roads and infrastructure (service area) construction. China's Sinohydro Corporation was appointed for the river training works while Bangladesh's Abdul Monem Limited was given the contract for the two link roads and infrastructure construction.