The government is forming a separate company to be dedicated exclusively for looking after the operation and maintenance (O&M) work of the Padma Bridge.
The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) has already registered the name, Padma Bridge Operation and Maintenance Company, with the Registrar of the Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), and drafted the memorandum of articles (MoA) and articles of association (AoA).
"We will now send the drafts for approval in the next BBA board meeting," said an official involved in the drafting process, adding that the BBA's target is to make the company operational in December next, well before ending the Padma Multipurpose Bridge (PMB) project scheduled in June next.
After the board's approval, the drafts of both MoA and AoA will be sent to the law ministry for vetting, followed by the RJSC for registration.
The last board meeting of the BBA on May 11 approved the proposal for forming the company - the first of its kind in the government's mechanism.
Officials said that as the concept of forming an O&M company is new in the country, making it functional may take time for building its capacity.
The BBA has planned to accommodate 64 staff from the PMB project into the O&M company though its organogram is yet to be prepared. It has only selected 14 board members for the company from the recommended ministries that would also be finalised by the board.
Since the PMB was opened for traffic on June 26, Korean Expressway Company (KEC) has been appointed for five years at a cost of Tk 6.93 billion to perform the O&M work of the 6.15-kilometre bridge.
"The BBA has planned to form the company as it will have to take over the O&M work from the KEC after a certain period," said an official.
The BBA, an autonomous government's agency under the Bridge Division of Ministry of Road Transport and Bridge, earns an average toll of Tk 20 million per day since the opening of the bridge.
According to the O&M contract with the KEC, the authority is now spending Tk 3.7 million per day for this special purpose.
