- August 22, 2026
Real Estate Times Report, Dhaka
A Japanese construction group has offered to build two of southern Bangladesh’s most significant river crossings under a public-private partnership, a move that property watchers say could open a fresh corridor of land development across a long-isolated part of the country.
Miyagawa Kensetsu Construction Ltd has expressed interest in delivering both the Bhola-Barishal Bridge and the Shariatpur-Chandpur Bridge. Together the two projects carry an estimated cost of about Tk33,423 crore, or roughly $3.44 billion. The government is aiming to complete both crossings by 2033, and once operational they are expected to transform regional connectivity and drive a surge of economic activity across the south.
The interest was formally recorded at the eighth Bangladesh-Japan Joint PPP Platform Meeting, held recently at a hotel in the capital. Both bridges were confirmed there as new projects under the platform, a step that signals firm commitment from the two governments to advance the schemes through private investment.
Senior officials from both sides attended. Bangladesh was represented by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, the PPP Authority chief executive and a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, while the Japanese delegation included a Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, the Ambassador to Bangladesh and senior officials from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, which had earlier selected Miyagawa for the proposed Bhola-Barishal crossing.
Stallion Capital Ltd is acting as Miyagawa’s local partner, supporting investment planning, development and implementation. The firm’s chairman said the group had spent years working to bring Japanese capital into Bangladesh’s infrastructure sector, and described the Bhola-Barishal Bridge as far more than a transport link, calling it a potential engine for new industry, employment and economic opportunity across the region.
Officials noted that Miyagawa may carry out the work on its own or alongside other Japanese firms. Before any formal selection, a transaction adviser will be appointed to run a feasibility study, after which the government will issue a Request for Proposal and move towards a final agreement.
The larger of the two schemes is the Bhola-Barishal Bridge, estimated at Tk17,466 crore. At a planned length of 10.86 kilometres, it would become the longest bridge in Bangladesh, giving the island district of Bhola a permanent and reliable road connection to the mainland at Barishal.
A 2024 feasibility study projects that the crossing will draw investment, generate jobs and add about 0.86 percent to GDP over 30 years. It is also expected to help carry natural gas from Bhola into the national grid, a factor that could accelerate industrial siting and, with it, demand for land along the new corridor.
For the property market, a fixed link to Bhola removes the single biggest barrier that has held the district back. Ferry dependence has long capped land value and discouraged serious development on the island. A permanent bridge changes that calculation and is likely to lift interest in residential, commercial and industrial plots on both banks.
The second project is the Shariatpur-Chandpur Bridge, an eight kilometre structure across the Meghna River estimated at Tk15,957 crore. It is planned between Horina Ferry Ghat in Chandpur and Sakhipur in Shariatpur, with a target completion of 2032.
The crossing would directly connect 21 south-western districts with 11 south-eastern districts, offering a dependable alternative to the current ferry service. Officials expect it to cut the distance between Khulna and Chattogram by around 90 kilometres and ease the traffic that now funnels through Dhaka. The Bangladesh Bridge Authority appointed an international consulting firm for the project in 2021, and the survey report was completed last year.
A shorter, more reliable Khulna to Chattogram route reshapes the logistics map, and logistics tends to pull real estate with it. Warehousing, light industry and roadside commercial development typically follow new corridors of this kind, which could put districts along the alignment on the radar of developers and land investors.
Bangladesh also presented the proposed Bhola-Lakshmipur Bridge at the meeting. The Japanese side responded with strong interest, viewing it as an important link for regional connectivity and trade. A bridge on this route across the Meghna would serve a vital inter-district connection used by people from 21 districts, and officials say it would significantly transform transport across the southern region.
Under PPP rules, the private partner leads construction and investment while the Bangladesh government bears the cost of land acquisition. That division matters for the property sector, because it points to state-led purchase and compensation along the alignments in the years ahead, and to the value uplift that usually follows once a fixed link replaces a ferry.
Southern Bangladesh has historically traded at a discount to the rest of the country, largely because of its reliance on ferries and its distance from the main road network. Three major crossings under active discussion could steadily close that gap, drawing developers, industry and homebuyers toward districts that have so far sat on the margins of the national property market.
The Japanese delegation also proposed a Waste-to-Energy project in Chattogram City under the joint platform, along with technical support to upgrade the country’s ageing railway bridges. The meeting further reviewed progress on several flagship projects already in the pipeline, including the Kamalapur Multimodal Transport Hub, Terminal 3 operation and maintenance at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the Outer Ring Road, and a local bridge improvement programme under the Roads and Highways Department.
The PPP Authority chief described the Bangladesh-Japan platform as a trusted mechanism for delivering major infrastructure and attracting quality investment. Both countries pledged to deepen cooperation, fast-track priority projects and support the country’s long-term growth, a direction that, for the south, could mean the beginning of a genuine property upcycle.