The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) is expected to conduct a feasibility study on the Jamuna river tunnel and is looking for US$14.62 million support from development partners, officials said Saturday.
They said soon after getting the funds, the authority will carry out the study for assessing the viability and selecting the site of the tunnel to be constructed under the mighty Jamuna River.
"We have already sent our request to the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to search for the funds from any of the overseas development partners, including China, Japan, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank," said a bridge authority official.
Initially, it has selected Balashighat under Gaibandha district and Dewanganjghat under Jamalpur district as the potential sites for building the tunnel, he added.
But, the exact site of the proposed tunnel will be finalised on completion of the study, said the official who asked not to be named.
"As per our plan, we will start the feasibility in July this year for completing the tunnel by June 2021," he said.
The tunnel will be a multi-modal transportation corridor under the Jamuna River where roads and railway communications system will be added.
An official of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges said the Jamuna tunnel will connect the country's impoverished northern region with the more developed Dhaka and other eastern parts of the country.
The Bangabandhu Bridge on the Jamuna River is now the only gateway between the western and the eastern part of the country, which is overburdened with railway tracks, he said.
Besides, if the Jamuna tunnel is built between Balashighat and Dewanganjghat, the distance between Dhaka and the northern districts will be reduced by nearly 80 kilometres, he added.
Passenger vehicles and train services will be introduced through the tunnel, which will facilitate the travel of thousands of passengers as well as the transportation of substantial number of goods-laden vehicles every day, the official said.
The official of the ministry said the tunnel will reduce the pressure on the Bangabandhu Bridge, thus ensuring the fast road and rail communications from the western part of the country to the eastern part through the Chittagong seaport.
It will also help facilitate the regional transport, trade and business among the neighbouring countries in South Asia, the official said.
Since siltation is a big problem at the Jamuna River, the tunnel will be more feasible than the bridges, he added.
The official said the width of the Jamuna River could stretch up to 13 kilometres during the rainy season where 19,500 cubic metres of water are transmitted through this river every second alongside 650 million tonnes of silt.
Meanwhile, the government has started the construction of the country's first tunnel under the Karnaphuli river in Chittagong at Tk 98.80 billion, financed by China.
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