Bangabandhu Tunnel opens today

Everything all is set to inaugurate the much-hyped Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, constructed beneath the Karnaphuli River, today (Saturday) which would turn Chattogram city into one city, two towns. 

The tunnel, the first of its kind in South Asia, is expected to boost the economy, trade, and tourism in the region. In future, the economic development at Anwara will get a pace like Patenga.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will unveil a plaque on the west bank of the River Karnaphuli at Patenga. After crossing the tunnel, she will unwrap another plaque on the south bank of the river at Anwara at 11 am, according to the programme schedule.

The nearly 10km-long tunnel, built under the River Karnaphuli between Patenga and Anwar upazila at a cost of Tk 10,374 crore, will open to traffic from 6am on Sunday. It is 40 kilometres away from the country's commercial capital and port city Chattogram.

The premier will also release a special commemorative note of Tk 50, postage stamp, an opening day envelope, and a special seal, marking the inauguration of the first-ever underwater road tunnel.

Sheikh Hasina, also Awami League president, will open and lay the foundation stones of some projects in Chattogram on the occasion. Later, she will address a public rally at Korean EPZ (KEPZ) ground in Anwara standing on a large boat-shaped stage.

At a press briefing on Thursday in Dhaka, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said 17,260 vehicles would be able to use the tunnel daily equating to some 7.6 million vehicles a year. The tunnel would help increase the country's annual GDP growth by 0.166 per cent, he added.

"The tunnel will also cut the distance among Chattogram city, the seaport, and the airport as it will play a crucial role in making the economy more vibrant," Quader said.

Md. Harunur Rashid Chowdhury, director of the mega project, said that the tunnel will turn Chattogram into "one city with two towns" like the Chinese city of Shanghai as it will expand the periphery of the city by boosting the economy and opening new doors of immense potential for industrialisation, tourism and expansion of trade and commerce and developing road connectivity in the entire region.

It is estimated that 17350 vehicles will use the tunnel in the beginning while at least 62000 vehicles will use the tunnel daily by 2040. 

“Karnaphuli River has divided Chattogram city into two parts. There are three bridges now over this river to connect two parts but that is not enough due to the excessive flow of traffic. The river is collecting a huge amount of silt and those bridges are contributing to that. A fourth bridge would gather more silt and hamper Chittagong Port’s activities largely due to navigation problem. So, the tunnel is the best option for us,” he said.

This tunnel is one of the best investments for the future, he added.   

This tunnel is built with a lifetime of 100 years. A Chinese company, China Communications Construction Company, will do maintenance and operation for the first five years. The tunnel will open to the public from the morning after the inauguration. However, three-wheelers and motorcycles will not run for the time being. No one can even walk in the tunnel.

Bangabandhu Tunnel: A unique architectural landmark

This tunnel has been built as earthquake-resistant up to Richter scale nine. “This tunnel is 18-31 metre under the riverbed as the earthquake’s effect is lesser under twenty metres. So, we are not worried about such incidents in the future,” Md. Harunur Rashid Chowdhury told The Business Post on Thursday.

The tunnel has been constructed in soft soil, which is a unique feature.

The authorities have used state-of-the-art ventilation, lighting, communication, drainage, and firefighting systems for the tunnel.

“We have a control to keep an eye on the tunnel and if there is any problem, they will notice that right away. Within five minutes the operation and maintenance team will either remotely solve the problem or rush to the spot. There will be standby teams of police, firefighters, and Bangladesh Navy round the clock,” he said.

Vehicles will be allowed to ply at a speed of 60kmph. There are more than 100 cameras in the tunnel to oversee speeding issues.

“The tunnel is dark inside and we have a lighting system round the clock. We will not have power cut problems as well as there are two electricity lines and generator backups and UPS,” he said.

The tunnel also has four floodgates to prevent water from going inside in case of devastating floods. There are floating pumps to bring out water if needed.

There will be scanners to prevent any vehicles carrying illegal goods from using the tunnel.

The PD said that the tunnel was a new experience for Bangladeshi engineers and many challenges. “After we started excavation and completed five per cent work, we saw that the boring machine was tending coming to the upper level as the soil under was harder.

In the lowest part of the tunnel, the engineers found soil deformation that forced us to stiop working for four months,” he said.

The project authorities called experts from China to find alternative ways to solve this problem. “For this complexity, we completed construction of the first tube in 17 months but managed to complete the second one in ten months,” he said.

Tunnel to contribute to the economy

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Mahbubul Alam said Bangladesh is going to enter the era of underwater road tunnel which is of course a pride for the entire nation as well it will facilitate the business community hugely.

The tunnel would boost industrialization in the region as two export processing zones in Chattogram-KEPZ in Anwara and Chattogram EPZ in Halishahar- and Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ) in Anwara will be highly facilitated by the tunnel, he said.

Alam said it would connect the proposed Asian Highway with Dhaka-Chattogram-Cox's Bazar Highway by reducing distance by 40km and it will also facilitate the ongoing and planned power and energy hub in Cox's Bazar, which is already a tourist hub of the country.

Thus it will have significant contributions to the country's GDP like Padma Bridge, the FBCCI president said, reports BSS.

Apart from the tunnel, he said, if a Dhaka-Chattogram expressway can be built and a master plan is taken to boost a planned industrialization on the bank of river Karnaphuli to turn it as a Smart city, it will be highly beneficial for country's economy as well as it can boost Bangladesh's connectivity with 'seven sisters' of India including Mizoram and Manipur expanding trade and business as well as tourism in the region.

As per the project details, the length of the entire route is 9.39 kilometers (5.83 mi), with the tunnel making up 3.32 kilometers (2.06 mi) of the length while it's diameter is 10.80 meters (35.4 ft).

It has been built at a cost of Tk 10,374 crore and of which around half is financed by the Exim Bank of China.

It will improve the Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway network. A Chinese company, China Communications Construction Company, constructed it.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the construction site of the Karnaphuli Tunnel on October 14, 2017.

On 24 February 2019, Sheikh Hasina also inaugurated the tunnel boring phase.

The multilane tunnel route passes through the river close to Navy College on one side and Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) and Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company (KAFCO) on the other. It will also ease traffic congestion on two bridges over the Karnaphuli River.

Chattogram deputy commissioner Abul Bashar Mohammad Fakruzzaman said the tunnel will expedite the county's economy and regional trade and commerce by turning Chattogram into one city with two towns.

Three-layer security measures will be ensured at the venue for the inauguration of the tunnel, he said.