Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged engineers to play a more proactive role in constructing infrastructures suitable to cope with adverse impacts of climate change.

"Engineers must play a more effective role in building infrastructures tolerant to climate change and its adverse impacts, and in ensuring food and energy security," she said in a message issued today (May 6, 2022) on the occasion of the 74th founding anniversary of the Engineers Institution, Bangladesh (IEB) and the Engineers' Day.

Greeting all the engineers on the occasion, the prime minister said the role of engineers is very important in the country's overall development.

The technological and engineering development is the key to the development of a nation, she said, adding that immediately after independence of the country, the engineers had played a significant role in reconstructing the war-ravaged Bangladesh under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Sheikh Hasina said the engineers are pushing the country forward through technical and engineering progress.

The Awami League government, since 2009, has been implementing many mega projects including Padma Bridge, metro rail, elevated expressway, Karnaphuli tunnel, LNG terminal, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and 100 special zones apart from the development of road, rail and waterway communication, she said.

The engineers are playing a key role in these development projects, the prime minister said.

Recalling the government's constant support for the engineers, she said the AL government always remains beside them.

During its 1996-2001 era, the AL government allocated 10 bigha of land for construction of IEB building, while it provided a total of Taka 46 crore for the IEB building, Sheikh Hasina said.

She said on the occasion of Mujib Year and 50 years of independence, Bangladesh graduated to a developing country from a least developed one, while the engineers had a significant contribution to this end.

Sheikh Hasina hoped that the engineers will play a leading role in building a prosperous and developed "Sonar Bangla", as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by 2041.

She wished all the programmes taken on the occasion of Engineers' Day success.