Shah Amanat Bridge

Shah Amanat Bridge, the third constructed across the Karnaphuli River in Bangladesh, is the first major cable-stayed bridge in the country. It connects the southern parts of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, and the hill district Bandarban.Construction historyConstruction of the bridge started in August, 2006 and it was officially opened on September 8, 2010. The Chinese construction company, "Major Bridge Construction, China," built the bridge. The project involved a cost of Taka 590 crore, including a foreign exchange component of Taka 3.72 billion provided by the Kuwait Fund.DimensionsThe bridge is 950 m long and 24.47 m wide. It has five piers with three 200 m extradosed main spans, two 115 m side spans and a 130 m approach viaduct section. Alongside four lanes for vehicles, the bridge has two 1.5 m lanes for movement of 'manual transports' like rickshaws, push carts and vans. There is also a 1.5 m walkway on each side of the bridge. The bridge has a 0.5 km approach road in the city end and one km approach road at the Patiya end.