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Country's first-ever tunnel under the Karnaphuli River named 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel' will be opened for traffic on October 28 this year.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the tunnel which is her gift for the people of Chattogram in her government's current tenure, said project insiders.
Earlier, the facility was scheduled to be opened in December 2022 but the authorities deferred the schedule to March this year.
Project sources said 99 per cent construction work of the tunnel has been completed this month.
Project Director Harunur Rashid said, "Construction work of the tunnel is nearing completion fast. We are now doing the finishing work and checking the safety systems."
He added, "Construction work of the Karnaphuli tunnel project has almost completed (99 per cent). Along with this, work of the approach road has already been completed."
"After completion of the total work, other things including driving through the tunnel will be checked and then it will be opened for traffic," he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges has already fixed up the toll rates for vehicles for using the 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel'.
The ministry issued a notice recently in this regard.
The tolls will be Tk200 for a car, jeep and pick-up, Tk 250 for a microbus, Tk 300 for a 30-seat capacity bus, Tk 400 for a big 32 to 40-seat capacity bus, Tk 400 for a truck (4 MT capacity), Tk 500 for a 5 to 8 MT capacity truck, Tk 600 for a 6 to 11 MT capacity truck, Tk 800 for a three-excel truck, Tk 1,000 for a four-excel truck. The new tolls have been fixed for one-way trip.
Sources said the total length of the tunnel is around 9.092 kilometers including 3.40 kilometers under the Karnaphuli River with an approach road of 4.89 kilometers alongside 740 meters of bridges linking the main port city and western side of the Karnaphuli along with the heavy industry-prone eastern side of the river.
The multilane tunnel will directly connect Chittagong port and South Chattogram, particularly Anwara upazila, and is expected to make communication between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar easier. The tunnel will also ease traffic congestion on two bridges over the Karnaphuli River.
According to the sources, the total expenditure of the tunnel project is Tk 84.46 billion (Tk8446.64 crore) while China is providing Tk 55.05 billion (Tk 5,505 crore).
The rest of the amount is being provided by the Bangladesh government.