Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today laid the foundation stone of a 4.8km double-line dual-gauge Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge -- aimed at boosting rail communication between the capital and western zones of the railway.

Once constructed, the dedicated dual-gauge double-track railway bridge over the Jamuna River, which will be built some 300 metres upstream of the Bangabandhu Bridge that has a single rail line, would be the largest dedicated rail bridge in the country.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone virtually from her official residence Gono Bhaban.

Bangladesh Railway, along with the consultant organisations -- Oriental Consultants Global Company Limited and Chodai Company Limited of Japan and Development Design Consultants Limited of Bangladesh in association with ACE Consultants Limited of Bangladesh -- have already completed a detailed design of the railway bridge.

The main bridge will be constructed in two phases. Two separate agreements have already been signed with Obayashi-TOA-JFE, Japan and IHI-SMCC JV, Japan for eastern and western parts of civil works respectively.

A joint venture of Obayashi Corporation, TOA Corporation and JFE would construct the eastern part of the bridge at a cost of Tk 6,801 crore, while another joint venture of the IHI and SMCC will work on the western part which will cost Tk 6,148 crore.

As per the agreements, land was handed over to both contractors in July this year.

The main project operations include the construction of a 4.8km long dual-gauge double-track bridge, construction of a 7.6km long double-line railway approach embankment, erection of 30.73km dual-gauge railway track, construction of 16 railway approach viaducts, minor bridges and culverts, renovation and remodeling of Bangabandhu Bridge East and Bangabandhu Bridge West stations and yards.

The new bridge will be able to run trains at a speed of 120 kmph on broad gauge line and 100 kmph on metre gauge track. With the construction of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge, 88 trains will be able to run.

The project is scheduled to be completed by 2025.

Bhutan Premier Dr Lotay Tshering today arrived in Dhaka to a red-carpet welcome by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Bhutanese PM is the fourth among world leaders to arrive in Dhaka on a three-day official visit to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh's independence and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

A VVIP aircraft of Bhutan's national carrier Druk Air carrying Prime Minister Tshering and other entourage members landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HISA) around 9:30am.

Prime Minister Hasina welcomed her Bhutanese counterpart at the VVIP tarmac of the airport with a flower bouquet. The visiting leader was subsequently given a tri-services guard of honour at the airport.

Several Ministers, State Ministers, and high-ranking civil and military high officials were also present at the airport.

From the airport, the visiting premier headed to the National Memorial in Savar to pay tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War of Bangladesh.

At the National Memorial, Tshering signed the visitors' book and planted a sapling next to the one he planted on April 12, 2019.

He is also slated to visit Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi no 32 to pay tributes to the Father of the nation. A visit to BIMSTEC Secretary General's residence for a meeting is also on his itinerary.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen will call on him at the Presidential Suite in the hotel.

In the evening, the Bhutanese PM will attend a cultural programme and a banquet hosted by Prime Minister Hasina in his honor.

On Wednesday, Lotay Tshering is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Hasina at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), where both the leaders are scheduled to hold talks.

After the talks, a couple of MOUs are likely to be signed between Bangladesh and Bhutan to enhance the cooperation between the two countries.

The Bhutanese Prime Minister will also pay a courtesy call on Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban.

Later in the afternoon on Wednesday, Tshering will join the celebrations at National Parade Square as the guest of honour, where Prime Minister Hasina will receive him.

Bangladesh and India signed seven memorandum of understanding (MoUs) on cooperation in seven sectors during a virtual summit today.

The seven MoUs include framework agreement on high impact community development projects; cooperation in the field of agricultural, protocol on trans-boundary elephant conservation; supply of equipment and improvement of garbage/solid waste disposal ground in Barishal City Corporation; cooperation between Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Museum, Dhaka and museum in New Delhi; terms of reference of India-Bangladesh CEOs Forum; and framework understanding on cooperation in Hydrocarbon sector.

The virtual summit between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian PM Narendra Modi began around 11:30am.

Hasina and her counterpart Modi delivered their opening remarks.

The meeting will continue until 1:00pm today.

Following that, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will hold a press conference at the State Guesthouse Padma in Dhaka at 2:30pm.

They launched a postal stamp marking the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and inaugurated Bangabandhu-Bapu Digital Museum, which highlights the lives and activities of the founders of Bangladesh and India.