The completion of the civil work on the south-tube of the much-awaited ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel’ under the Karnaphuli river will be celebrated today.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually attend the event as the chief guest.
The authorities concerned are expected to open the first tunnel to traffic next January.
Project Director (PD) Harunur Rashid Chowdhary told Daily Sun that 94 per cent work on the entire project has already been completed.
“We are working to complete the remaining six per cent work to open the tunnel for traffic in January,” he said.
PD said, ‘We are now doing electromechanical and other unfinished works.’
In addition, some commissioning, and safety and security issues of the tunnel will be ensured through tests to make it suitable for traffic movement.
Related sources said that the excavation work of the second tube of the tunnel was completed on October 7 last year.
This connected the two sides of the river to the two tubes of the tunnel.
On 2 August 2020, the boring work of the first tube well was completed and on 12 December 2020 the work of the second tube well started.
The Bridge Authority of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, following the model of ‘One City and Two Towns’, initiated the construction of the tunnel with the aim of connecting the southern part of the port city with the Anwara Upazila located on the other side of the river.
The objectives of the project also include improving road communication in the country’s southeastern region, connecting to the Asian Highway network, planned urbanization on both sides of the river, and increasing facilities for the Chattogram Port.
China Communications Construction Co., Ltd. is implementing the project to build a 9.39-kilometer tunnel for traffic.
In total length, the main tunnel will be 3.32 km, the approach roads at the east and west ends will be 5.35 km and an over bridge (viaduct) will be 727 meters.
The tunnel will connect the Navy Avenue point and CUFL point of the port city under Anwara Upazila in the district.
The 17 km long and 90 feet wide four-lane Outer Ring Road on the existing coastal embankment stretching from Patenga to Faujdarhat under Sitakund Upazila will connect the tunnel at Patenga.
The Rs 10,374 crore project is being implemented with funds from the governments of Bangladesh and China.
Concerned officials said that more than 1,000 people, including Chinese engineers and workers, are working continuously on both sides of the river to implement the project.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping laid the foundation stone for the tunnel at an event in the capital on October 14, 2017.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the boring work on February 24, 2019.