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Monday | October 12, 2026 | Dhaka

Contractor disappears, work on Tk177cr bridge stalled

 Alam Sarowar Tito, Kishoreganj
 Published: 12:01 AM, 11 October 2026

Construction of the Tk177 crore Bangalpara-Chatalpar bridge over the Meghna River has remained stalled for the past five months after the contractor allegedly abandoned the project, leaving about 60 percent of the work incomplete.

The contractor, Tama Construction, has so far raised a bill of Tk35 crore, according to the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).

The one-kilometre bridge is being built to connect Bangalpara in Ashtagram upazila of Kishoreganj with Durgapur under Chatalpar Union of Nasirnagar upazila in Brahmanbaria.

The project was awarded to Tama Construction in 2023, and the work was scheduled to be completed by October 25, 2025. Although construction initially progressed rapidly, around 40 percent of the work had been completed before the pace slowed and eventually stopped.

Locals said there has been no activity at the construction site for about five months.

Several incomplete pillars now stand in the Meghna, while construction materials and equipment worth crores of taka have been left on the riverbank and surrounding areas. With workers and company representatives leaving the site, the project area has effectively become abandoned.

Jahangir Alam Bulbul, an engineer employed by the contractor and previously responsible for supervising the work, said he left the company about one and a half months ago.

“I left my job about a month and a half ago and moved elsewhere. I cannot say anything about why the project is currently on hold. I have no contact with the contracting company,” he said.

LGED’s Ashtagram Upazila Engineer Md Mozammel Haque said Tama Construction had violated the contract and left the work incomplete.

He said the project had progressed slowly after the change of government as the owner of the contracting company remained in hiding, before work stopped completely about five months ago.
“Tama Construction has broken the contract and left the work incomplete,” he said.

Mozammel said the contractor had raised a bill of Tk35 crore against the Tk177 crore project.
He said construction materials and equipment had also been left at the site.

“Steps have already been taken to invite a fresh tender to complete the remaining work. Construction will resume after the necessary administrative approval is completed,” he said.

The bridge was planned to address longstanding communication problems in the haor areas of Kishoreganj and Brahmanbaria.

People in large parts of Ashtagram, Itna and Mithamoin still depend heavily on waterways, particularly during the monsoon. Boats remain a major means of transport, limiting year-round road connectivity.

Once completed, the Bangalpara-Chatalpar bridge is expected to create direct road connectivity between the haor areas of Kishoreganj and other parts of the country through Nasirnagar in Brahmanbaria.

Locals say the bridge could also improve the movement of agricultural goods, healthcare access, education and trade.

Anisur Rahman, a local resident, said people had been waiting for the bridge since construction began.
“We have many dreams associated with this bridge. We have been waiting since the work started to see when it will be operational. Once the bridge is completed, there will be road connectivity with the city all year round,” he said.

He said farmers would be able to transport haor rice and other agricultural products to urban markets more easily, while patients could reach better healthcare facilities faster.

“But since work has been stopped for five months, even our dreams have come to a standstill,” he said.
Another resident, Usman Mia, said he had hoped the bridge would improve communication for the next generation.

“The work on the bridge started three years ago. I have lost a lot of space here. The bridge has been our dream for a long time,” he said.

“I am old, I may not live long. But I had hoped that my next generation would be able to communicate with the city by road all year round,” he added.

He expressed concern that construction materials left at the site were deteriorating.

The project was originally scheduled for completion by October 25, 2025, but a substantial portion of the work remains unfinished.

With the contractor no longer operating at the site and the work stalled, uncertainty now surrounds the project’s completion.

LGED officials, however, said the fresh tendering process had already begun and that construction would resume after administrative approval.

For residents of the haor region, the immediate question is when workers and machinery will return to the Meghna and when the long-awaited bridge will finally provide the year-round road connectivity they have been promised.