Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel

Tunnel in Bangladesh

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel
বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান টানেল

Nameplate at the entrance of the tunnel

Location of the tunnel in Patenga To Anwara Upazila, Chattogram Division

Overview
Other name(s)| Karnaphuli Tunnel
Location| Chittagong, Bangladesh
Coordinates| 22°13′49″N 91°48′16″E﻿ / ﻿22.2304°N 91.8044°E﻿ / 22.2304; 91.8044
Status| Operational
Waterway| Karnaphuli River
Route| 2
Start| South Patenga
End| Anwara Upazila
Operation
Opened| October 28, 2023; 11 months ago (2023-10-28)
Owner| Government of Bangladesh
Traffic| 17,000 per day
Toll| ৳200-৳1,000
Technical
Design engineer| Chinese
Length| 3.32 km (9.39 km including approach road)
No. of lanes| 4
Operating speed| Maximum 80 km/h
Width| 10.8 m
Depth of tunnel below water level| 18 to 31 m
Grade| A1

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel (Bengali: বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান টানেল), also known as Karnaphuli Tunnel, is an underwater expressway tunnel in the port city of Chittagong, Bangladesh under the Karnaphuli River. The length of the entire route is 9.39 kilometres (5.83 mi), with the tunnel making up 3.32 kilometres (2.06 mi) of the length. The tunnel diameter is 10.80 metres (35.4 ft). It is expected, over 17,000 vehicles will be able to use this tunnel daily.[1] The cost of the project is estimated at US$1.1B, of which around half is financed by the Exim Bank of China.[2][3] The Bangabandhu Tunnel is the first underwater road tunnel in South Asia.[4][5][3] It is expected to improve the Dhaka–Chittagong–Cox's Bazar highway network.[6][7][8] A Chinese company, China Communications Construction Company, was selected to construct it.[9] The tunnel segments were produced in Zhenjiang, China.[3]

## History

[edit]

On 14 October 2016, Bangladesh Prime Minister and Chinese President Xi Jinping laid the foundation stone of the project.[10] Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping inaugurated the construction site of the Bangabandhu Tunnel on 14 October 2017. Hasina officially inaugurated the construction of the tunnel and inaugurated the tunnel boring phase on 24 February 2019.[3][11] On Saturday 28 October 2023, Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Bangabandhu Tunnel and was made available for traffic from 6 am the next day.[1][12]

## Financing

[edit]

The construction of the tunnel cost ৳10374 crore (US$880 million).[11] In October 2016, during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Dhaka, the loan agreement for the construction of the Bangabandhu Tunnel was signed. According to the agreement, Exim Bank of China provided ৳5913 crore (US$500 million) as a 20-year loan at 2 percent interest rate. The rest of the funding was provided by the Bangladesh government.[13]

## Technologies

[edit]

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel has more than 100 cameras for security, capable of discerning license plate numbers.[14][15]

## See also

[edit]

* Dhaka-Chittagong Highway
* Chittagong port
* List of megaprojects in Bangladesh
* Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, namesake of the tunnel
* Belt and Road Initiative

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Over 17,000 vehicles will be able to use Bangabandhu tunnel daily, Quader says". Dhaka Tribune. 26 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
2. ^ "Breaking new ground: Bangladesh's first underwater tunnel". SMEC. 18 June 2019. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
3. ^ a b c d "Karnaphuli tunnel to be ready for vehicular movement by next year". The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
4. ^ "PM set to inaugurate Karnaphuli tunnel project Feb 24". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2020. "It will be the first ever river tunnel in South Asia and we expect the construction work to be completed by 2022"
5. ^ "Mega projects of Bangladesh and prospective impacts in transforming the economy". Saudigazette. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
6. ^ "First ever river tunnel under Karnaphuli planned". The Financial Express. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
7. ^ "Work on Karnaphuli tunnel to begin this FY: Minister". Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
8. ^ "Karnaphuli tunnel construction to start this fiscal". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
9. ^ "PM launches mining work of Karnaphuli Tunnel in Chittagong". Dhaka Tribune. 24 February 2019. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
10. ^ জনকণ্ঠ, দৈনিক. "কর্ণফুলীর তলদেশ ফুঁড়ে এগোচ্ছে বঙ্গবন্ধু টানেল অগ্রগতি ৫০ ভাগ". দৈনিক জনকণ্ঠ || Daily Janakantha (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
11. ^ a b "Bangabandhu Tunnel: Tolls await final approval, 95% of work complete". Dhaka Tribune. 2 January 2023. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
12. ^ "Bangabandhu Tunnel opens today". businesspostbd.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
13. ^ "Bangabandhu Tunnel work almost done". Bangladesh Post. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
14. ^ "Karnaphuli tunnel buzzing with last minute activities ahead of inauguration". Dhaka Tribune. 13 October 2023.
15. ^ "Case filed against reckless racers in Bangabandhu tunnel". Business Standard. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.

*[No.]: Number