Padma Bridge, about 40 kilometers southwest of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, is referred to as the "Bridge of Dreams" by locals. Why? It plays an important role in boosting Bangladesh's connectivity and economic development. Wei Mingxia, an engineer with Steel Structure Manufacturing Technology Research Institute, under China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd., has helped build the bridge. She was the only woman chief engineer involved with the construction project.
After eight years of construction, Padma Bridge, spanning Padma River, the main branch of the Ganges, opened to the public on June 25, 2022. The bridge slashed travel times from Southwest Bangladesh to Dhaka from seven to eight hours to as little as 10 minutes.
The project was conducted by China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance and Design Institute Co., Ltd., China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co., Ltd., and China Railway Hi-Tech Industry Co., Ltd., all subsidiaries of China Railway Group Limited.
The 21.5-meter-wide, 6.15-kilometer-long bridge is a major part of the Asian Highway Network under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It has two levels; the upper tier having a four-lane, two-way highway, and the lower tier, a single-track railway.
The bridge has become an important transportation junction, as it establishes direct communications — by both road and rail — between Dhaka and 21 districts in the southern and southwestern regions of the country.
In areas neighboring the bridge, hotels, restaurants, resorts and parks have sprung up. In Mawa, a nearby town, more than 20 restaurants have opened. During an interview, Kabirul Siddiqui, an editor with a Bangladeshi newspaper, said the region's economy received a huge boost when Padma Bridge opened to the public.
Wei says she was delighted to share the sense of happiness and fulfillment brought by the bridge with Bangladeshi people. "I'm glad people there are benefiting from the bridge, and moving on to a better life," she says.
Overcoming Challenges
Inspired by the stories of Zhan Tianyou (1861-1919), known as the "Father of China's Railway," Wei was determined to become an engineer when she was a primary school student.
Wei became the only woman chief engineer involved in the Padma Bridge project after China Railway Group Limited, in June 2014, won the bid to build the bridge.
In March 2015, Wei arrived at the construction site with her colleagues. To their surprise, they found many wild animals, and wild grass, in the area, though it was only 40 kilometers from Dhaka.
Nevertheless, it took them only three months to build their living and office areas, which covered about 10,800 square meters.
During the following seven years, Wei and her teammates stayed on site, despite the harsh natural environment, the spread of COVID-19, as well as other contagious diseases.
Wei says there were many unprecedented challenges and difficulties during construction of Padma Bridge, even though she had decades of experience building bridges, both at home and abroad. However, Wei and her teammates successfully overcame technical and engineering challenges, with their wisdom and expertise, and made contributions to the completion of the bridge.
The bridge was designed to have 41 spans, with each span being 150 meters long. The first span was installed in September 2017. On December 10, 2020, the last span was installed, marking the completion of the bridge's main structure. Wei and some of her colleagues were invited to board the ship, with Bangladeshi and Chinese officials, to witness the historic moment.
Support from Family
Wei says the understanding and support from both her husband and daughter have helped her stay focused on her work, and especially to stand out among the men in the male-dominated, bridge-building industry.
During construction, Wei won the recognition and trust of her Chinese and Bangladeshi colleagues because of her professional knowledge, the techniques she used to solve various problems, and her spirit of perseverance and resilience.
Wei failed to accompany her daughter when her daughter wrote the national college-entrance exam, also known as gaokao, because she had to stay at the bridge-construction site.
Under Wei's influence, her daughter selected road, bridge and river-crossing engineering as her university major. Wei's daughter hopes to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a versatile talent in building roads and bridges — globally.
During summer vacation of her first year in university, Wei's daughter visited the construction site in Bangladesh, and she said she was deeply impressed by her mother's outstanding performance, and by her mother's confidence in and passion for her work.
Wei returned to China in January 2022, after she finished her assignment at the construction site. At that time, Wei's daughter pursued further studies, in civil engineering and management, in the United Kingdom.
"During the next decade of BRI, maybe my daughter and I will appear in the same place to build the same bridge," Wei says.
Benefiting Locals
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated Padma Bridge during a grand ceremony, in Mawa, on June 25, 2022. Wei attended, via video link.
During her speech, Hasina said new economic zones and high-tech parks will be built in areas near the bridge. As a result, domestic and foreign investments will be attracted, and the pace of the country's industrialization will be accelerated, she added.
Wei says the arrival of Chinese construction companies has created more than 50,000 employment opportunities for Bangladeshi people, and has helped the locals acquire solid construction skills.
After completion of the bridge, China Railway Group Limited continued to conduct the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, an integral component of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, under BRI.
The year 2023 marked the 10th anniversary of the launch of BRI. On October 10, 2023, the first section of Padma Bridge Rail Link Project was officially launched. It was a dream-come-true moment for Bangladeshi people, who had long hoped one day to ride a train across the Padma River.
As a participant in building Padma Bridge, Wei says she is extremely proud to see the rise of China's national strength and international influence.
Wei emphasizes she has gained a deeper understanding of the importance of the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and she says she believes the building of infrastructure projects is conducive to bringing people from different countries closer together.
Photos from Interviewee and VCG
(Women of China English Monthly February 2024)
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