Quoting an engineer, the APB said that works would be completed well ahead of the scheduled opening of the world's 11th longest bridge. Army has been deployed on both sides of the bridge to strengthen security in the wake of growing suspicions that the pipeline might have been sabotaged. The 30-inch diameter gas line collapsed during testing operation on Thursday. The government has ordered a high-level enquiry into the incident.

The 4.8 kilometre road-rail Bangabandhu Bridge near Bhuapur connecting the eastern andnorth-western of Bangladesh is named after Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.``It is the longest bridge in south asia, 11th in the world and stands on the region's fifth largest river,'' Communication Minister Anwar Hossain Manju said.