Karnaphuli tunnel may open in Dec: Official

CHATTOGRAM, June 11: Karnaphuli tunnel is likely to be ready for inauguration by year-end, before the scheduled time of opening the multi-lane tunnel to public traffic, an official said.
He said 86 per cent work of the multi-billion Taka Karnaphuli Tunnel Project is complete now and the rest of the project work will be done within December of the current year.
Contacted, Project Director (PD) Harunur Rashid confirmed the claim by the official involved with the project.
The PD said around 86% work of the whole project was completed till the end of May 2022. He hoped that the total construction work of the project will be completed before the schedule.
"The civil work of the tunnel will be completed very soon. However, equipment needed to complete other works of the project is imported from China. That equipment is yet to reach the project site due to imposition of fresh lockdown in that country after reemergence of coronavirus pandemic there. I hope we will get the equipment soon. We are trying to complete the whole work of the project within this year," he stated.
Talking with the Financial Express, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Mahbubul Alam said once completed and opened to public traffic, project will tremendously change the picture of Chattogram, including the port city. He said the north and south portions of Chattogram will be connected through the tunnel and the project will open the door for investment and trades in this region.
Terming the Karnaphuli tunnel a dream project of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mr Alam said the tunnel is likely to gear up the economic activities not only in Chattogram region but also the whole country.
"A new city will be developed in the southern part of Chattogram. More industries will be set up at the KEPZ and at the exclusive Chinese economic zone in Anwara upazila which will create huge employment opportunities for us," he added.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the excavation under Karnaphuli River, the lifeline of Chittagong Port, on February 24, 2019, formally kicking off the construction work of the project.
After inauguration of the excavation work by the Prime Minister, deputy minister of education Barrister Muhibul Hasan Chowdhury then proposed to name the country's first-ever tunnel under a river after Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a cabinet meeting.
The cabinet meeting and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instantaneously agreed to Barrister Muhibul's proposal. Following this, the cabinet formally decided to name it Bangabandhu Tunnel after issuing a circular in this regard.
According to the sources, the total expenditure of the Karnaphuli Tunnel Project was estimated at over US $ 5.05 billion or Tk 84.46 billion (Tk 8446.64 crore). Of the total amount, China is providing more than US $ 750 million or Tk 5,505 crore. The rest will be provided by the Bangladesh government.
Sources said, the total length of the tunnel is around 9.092 kilometres including 3.40 kilometres under the river water. The project will have a total of 4.89 kilometres of approach and 740 metres of bridges. It will link the main port city with the western bank of River Karnaphuli along with the fast industrialising eastern side of the river.
Besides, the mult-billion Taka project will directly connect Chittagong Port and southern part of Chattogram district particularly the Anwara upazila with Cox's Bazar. It is expected to make communication between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar easier. The tunnel will also ease traffic congestion on two bridges over the Karnaphuli River.

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