Bangladeshi premier inaugurates work on river tunnel
4-lane tunnel being built at cost of $1.176 billion in southern Chattogram district
By Md. Kamruzzaman
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday inaugurated the boring work of a much-awaited underwater tunnel in the southern Chattogram district, state-run news agency reported.
According to Sangbad Sangstha news agency, the total length of the proposed tunnel will be around 9 kilometers (5.6 miles), including 3.4 kilometers (2 miles) of the tunnel under the Karnaphuli River.
“I want to build Bangladesh in such a way so that the whole world looks at it [country] with surprise … this is my expectation, nothing else,” the agency quoted Hasina as saying.
The four-lane tunnel is being built at a cost of 98.80 billion Bangladeshi Taka ($1.176 billion) to turn Chattogram into “One City Two Towns”.
When it is operational, the tunnel is expected to cut short the road distance between Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar, as well as easing the traffic on the highway linking Chattogram with the capital Dhaka.
This will be the first underwater tunnel in Bangladesh.
Chinese firm China Communication Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) has been appointed as a consultant for construction of the tunnel, the news agency said.
Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping had jointly laid its foundation stone on Oct. 14, 2017.
