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A motorcade from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) crossed the newly built Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram on a trial basis on Friday just a day before the formal inauguration by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.
As part of the opening preparation, the motorcade crossed the tunnel and inspected it.
A vehicle will take only three minutes to cross the 3.32-kilometre-long tunnel with a speed of 60km per hour.
The tunnel’s Project Director (PD) Haruner Rashid told reporters on Friday that they, on behalf of the Bridge Authority, Bridge Division and local administration, have already completed all preparations ahead of the tunnel opening tomorrow.
The tunnel not only connected the two banks of the river but also implemented the concept of ‘One City Two Towns’ and Bangladesh will connect with the international road network through the tunnel, he said.
The PD said the highest security has been put in place to protect the tunnel and members of law enforcement agencies along with police will remain deployed.
Over 100 ultramodern cameras were installed in the tunnel for the security and rescue operation will go on within five minutes of any accident, he said.
The much-awaited tunnel, the first under-river tunnel in South Asia, some 242 km southeast of the capital Dhaka, is awaiting inauguration by Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.
The tunnel, which has been implemented with joint funding from the governments of Bangladesh and China, and constructed by China Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC), is 3.4 km with an approach road of 5.35 km alongside a 727-meter bridge linking the main city, port and the western side of the river with its eastern side.
The main tunnel spans a length of 3.32 kilometres, with each of the two four-lane tubes measuring 2.45 kilometres.
Additionally, there will be a 5.35 km link road at both the west and east ends of the main tunnel, along with a 727-metre-long flyover at the Anwara end.
The tunnel is situated at a depth ranging from 18 to 31 metres beneath the Karnaphuli River.
PM Hasina initiated the commencement of boring for the first or northern tunnel from Patenga to Anwara on February 24, 2019.
