Noting Chattogram as the heartbeat of the country's economy, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday said it will become "one city with two towns" after the completion of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, being constructed beneath the Karnaphuli River.
"It is the first tunnel in South Asia. About 95.50 per cent of work of the tunnel project has been completed so far and it will be inaugurated on February 24," he said while exchanging views with journalists at the Circuit House in Chattogram.
Quader, also the general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, said once upon a time, none thought that the Bangabandhu tunnel would turn Chattogram into "one city with two towns" like Shanghai in China.
He said that the feasibility study of the metro rail project in Chattogram will be completed on January 31.
Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken responsibility for the country's development giving economic freedom to the people of the country, he said.
The Awami League general secretary said when the World Bank withdrew its funding from the Padma Bridge project, the dream was going to be broken.
Then Sheikh Hasina stood in the House and announced that the Padma Bridge would be constructed with own funding, he said, adding, "Padma Bridge is no longer a dream but a reality now."
Quader said, "We are going through a difficult and challenging time. The Russia-Ukraine war is going on, and sanctions and counter-sanctions of Europe and America are being imposed on each other, and as a result, one-third of the world's countries are now moving towards a big rescission."
Mentioning that the living cost in Europe has reached a record 40-year high, he said Sri Lanka's foreign reserves stand at the bottom, while Pakistan's reserves are also in a critical condition now.
He said there is no doubt that the prices of all commodities have increased in Bangladesh.
Amid the global economic crisis, Bangladesh's reserves are still in a good position due to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Quader added.
He said the reserves of Bangladesh are now $34 billion and still it has the capacity to import goods for five months with the reserves.
