Countrymen will have to wait more time to use Bangabandhu Tunnel, being constructed beneath the Karnaphuli River despite the construction works of the tunnel almost completed.
The total work progress of the first tunnel in South Asia is about 97.7 per cent while the work progress of the main tunnel is 99.5 per cent.
Bangabandhu Tunnel project director Harunur Rashid Chowdhury said the tunnel will be inaugurated after the completion of scanner installation at the entry point of the tunnel, setting up police outpost and fire service to ensure the security of the mega establishment. The higher authority will take decisions about the inauguration, he added.
Harunur Rashid Chowdhury said the works of setting up two police outposts and fire services on the two sides of the tunnel will be started very soon.
Bangabandhu Tunnel is considered the second revolution in the country’s communication sector after the Padma Bridge. It will add a new dimension to tourism, industrialization and the economy in the greater Chattogam.
Future commercial hub Matarbari of Cox’s Bazar will be connected with the whole country through this tunnel. A deep sea port, power station, LNG terminal, LPG terminal, gas transmission, single point mooring project, oil refinery, energy and food storage, tourism, embankment and waterfront economic zone are being constructed in Matarbari.
The tunnel will reduce the distance between Cox’s Bazar and Chattogram by 40km.
Bangabandhu Tunnel is expected to contribute 0.166 per cent to the national economic growth by boosting employment, tourism, and industrialisation. It is expected to greatly improve the traffic situation in Chattogram.
The Tunnel is being built at a cost of Tk 10,374 crore. The tunnel project is being implemented with joint funding from the governments of Bangladesh and China (G2G). The Exim Bank of China is giving a loan of Tk 5,913 crore while the Bangladesh government is funding the rest.
Vehicles in Bangabandhu Tunnel will run at a speed of 80 km per hour.
@ The article was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on May 25, 2023 and has been rewritten in English by Golam Rosul.
