The construction work of the 3.32 km long ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel’, the first river-bottom tunnel in South Asia which has been built under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram, has been completed.
The Bangabandhu tunnel is now fully ready for vehicular movement. Alongside the construction work, all kinds of work, including mechanical, electrical and beautification work, have been completed and multiple trials have been successfully completed by driving the vehicle.
The pre-commissioning and commissioning of the tunnel has already been successfully completed. There are seven systems for vehicles to move safely through the tunnel. All of the systems have been tested. Now vehicles are fully prepared to move through the tunnel. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the tunnel on October 28 and the next day it will open for traffic, said Md Monjur Hossain, secretary of Bridges Division at Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.
A preparatory meeting for the opening ceremony of the Bangabandhu tunnel was held at Chattogram Circuit House on Tuesday (September 12, 2023). Chattogram district administration arranged the meeting where the Secretary of the Bridge Division was present as the chief guest.
Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Md. Tofail Islam, Project Director of Bangabandhu Tunnel Harun Ur Rashid, former city mayor AJM Nasir Uddin, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Chattogram Abul Basar Mohammad Fakhruzzaman, Chattogram DIG Nure Alam Mina and CMP Commissioner Krishna Pada Roy were present at the preparatory meeting, among others.
Md Manjur Hossain, who is also Executive Director of Bangladesh Bridge Authority, said that Chattogram is becoming a part of history through the inauguration of the tunnel. Everyone has to pay toll to cross the tunnel. Only those who are on urgent work will be exempted from this toll. A foreign firm has been entrusted with the management of the tunnel for five years. The tunnel will be opened to the public on October 29, the day after the inauguration. Pre-commissioning of the tunnel is over. Now there will be safety drill.
The tunnel, which descends to a depth of 18-31 meters past Patenga Naval Academy in the port city, will re-surface through the area between CUFL and KAFCO at Anwara beyond Karnaphuli. The 35 feet wide and 16 feet high tunnel will have vehicles passing through two tubes. The length of each tunnel in the tunnel is 2.45 km. The distance between one tube and the other is about 12 meters. There are four lanes in total, two in each tube.
There is a 5.35 km connecting road at the eastern and western ends of the tunnel. Besides, there is an overbridged of 727 meters length at the Anwara end.
Md Manjur Hossain said that it is everyone’s responsibility to keep it beautiful. CDA will take care, they have several responsibilities. Ease of entry and exit is essential to reap the benefits of tunnels. Vehicles will run at a speed of 80 km per hour in this tunnel. But maybe the speed should be kept a little lower in the beginning, so that everyone can get used to it. Three-wheeled vehicles like motorcycles or auto-rickshaws are not allowed in this tunnel.
He also said that there will be guidance system for the public inside the tunnel and there will be automatic guidance on eight radio channels. Regardless of the frequency inside the tunnel, this guidance will automatically continue as long as the vehicle remains in the tunnel.
If the Bangabandhu Tunnel is opened, the picture of the two banks of the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram will change and the economic activities here will expand greatly. This tunnel will connect the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar highway with the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. South Chattogram will be easier to connect with Chattogram, the commercial capital of the country.
South of the river, Anwara has the Korean EPZ, China EPZ, CUFL and Parki Beach. Crossing Karnaphuli, Anwara can be connected to Cox's Bazar, Banshkhali and Matarbari power plants and Matarbari deep sea port.
Bangladesh government is implementing this project to build 'One city with two towns' on the two banks of the Karnaphuli River, on the model of Shanghai in China. Work began in December 2017, two years after approval in 2015.
This tunnel has been built with the aim of establishing a connection with the Asian highway and building a new road communication system between Dhaka-Chattogram-Cox's Bazar. The Chinese company ‘China Communication Construction Limited’ is doing the construction work.
The government also hopes that the tunnel will play a role in enhancing the existing facilities of the Chattogram port and speeding up the construction of the proposed deep sea port.
Jointly financed by Bangladesh and China, the initial cost of the tunnel project was estimated at Tk 9,880 crore. Two years after approval, when the project started in December 2017, the cost was increased to Tk 10,374 crore.
Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Md. Tofail Islam said, “The tunnel project is the first in Bangladesh. There may be lies or negative publicity about it. Everyone should be aware of this. Law and order forces will take action if false and negative propaganda is carried out.”
Project Director Harun Ur Rashid said, “The tunnel is fully prepared for vehicle movement. Security details are being looked into. The progress of the entire project is 98.50 percent. I hope to finish the whole work by December. Even if it is inaugurated in the meantime, there will be no problem in moving forward with the work.”
Former city mayor AJM Nasir Uddin said, ‘The tunnel project is the first in Bangladesh and South Asia. Various programs will be taken up to make the inaugural event memorable. A peaceful rally is scheduled to take place on the day of the inauguration at the Anwara edge. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will speak as the chief guest.’
