Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (November 26, 2022) said Awami League always thinks of innovative ways to advance the nation at an unbeatable pace. “Awami League always thinks in line with the modern era, advancing the nation and developing the country with an unbeatable pace,” she said. The prime minister said this while joining an event marking the end to general work of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel’s south tube which goes beneath the river Karnaphuli. She officially announced completion of the tunnel’s south side. The PM joined the event, organised by the Bridges Division in Chattogram, virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban. Read More: PM reaches Jashore, speaks at President Parade in BAF Academy She said that only Awami League has the innovative vision to construct a tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli river. She said that Zia, Ershad and Khaleda Zia never thought of constructing a tunnel under a river.  They lacked that vision, she said. Sheikh Hasina said that construction of the Karnaphuli Tunnel will brighten the image of the country as well as boost economic activities in the locality. Readd more: PM officially announces completion of Karnaphuli Tunnel’s south side “This (Karnaphuli Tunnel) will contribute significantly to the country's economy,” she said. Coming down heavily on a section of people who “do not see” development by the Awami League government, she advised them to have their eyes checked. “Many do not see our development initiatives… If they have difficulties in seeing, they can go to the doctor. We have established a very good Institute of Ophthalmology. They can go there for treatment; they might see everything,” she said. She also said that if anyone wants to remain blind, then nothing can be done. Read more: PM to join Karnaphuli Tunnel event Saturday “I think there are some people in our opposition parties who are blind, despite having functioning eyes. They pretend not to see anything… They do not have the ability to do anything… In future, they will not be able to do anything either. They will not be capable of giving anything to the country,” the PM said. She said that the opposition, with their pockets full when in power, smuggled ten trucks of arms and laundered money. “They never worked for the welfare of the people, and in future they will not do anything either, this is the reality,” she said. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam And Bridges Division Secretary Md Monjur Hossain also spoke at the programme. Read More: Bangladesh has changed a lot under Awami League govt: PM Hasina A documentary on the Karnaphuli Tunnel was screened at the programme. The Bangladesh Prime Minister also witnessed a cultural function at the Karnaphuli tunnel project's programme venue in Chattogram.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Wednesday approved a number of proposals including import of a total of 180,000 metric tons (MT) of fertiliser. The committee also approved a proposal of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority to pay 65 percent of the payment in Bangladesh currency and remaining 35 percent in foreign currency (US dollar) to the Chinese service provider of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel. Read more: Proposals to import sugar, fertilizer get cabinet body nod Earlier, the Chinese CCCC was appointed as service provider at a cost of Tk 983.82 crore for a five-year tenure. It will collect the toll from the tunnel user vehicles and also conduct its operation and maintenance work. Under the new approval, the Chinese CCCC will get annually Tk 656.98 crore (as 65 percent of the payment) in local currency and $35.162 million (equivalent to Tk 326.83 crore) in US dollar. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the virtual meeting while members of the committee attended it. As per approval, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will import 90,000 MT of urea fertiliser in four equal lots while the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation will import the remaining 90,000 MT MOP and DAP fertiliser in two lots. In one lot, the BCIC will import 30,000 MT of bulk granular urea fertiliser from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE at a cost of Tk 189.28 crore with per matric ton’s value at $594.67. Some 60,000 MT of the same urea will be imported by the BCIC from SABIC Agri-nutrients Company of Saudi Arabia in two lots (each 30,000 MT) at the same rate and the total cost will be Tk 387.56 crore. Read more: Cabinet purchase body okays import of 90,000 MT fertiliser, other proposals The BCIC will also import 30,000 MT of phosphoric acid from Sun International of FZE, the UAE (local agent RK Enterprise, Dhaka) at a contract value of Tk 215.14 crore. The BADC, under the Agriculture Ministry, will import 50,000 MT of MOP fertiliser from Canada at a cost of Tk 416.64 crore with per MT price at $821. It will import 40,000 MT of DAP from Saudi Arabia at a cost of Tk 308.78 crore with per MT price at $826.50. The committee gave nod to a proposal of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to award a Tk 102.61 crore civil work contract to Ideal Electrical Enterprise Ltd., under Bangladesh Power Distribution System Improvement, Mymensingh zone project.

A case has been filed against six government officials, including a senior assistant commissioner of the Chattogram district administration, for dilly-dallying to pay money due for land acquisition under the Bangabandhu Tunnel Project. The case was filed at the court of Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Dev, said the plaintiff’s lawyer Advocate Anamul Hoque. Taking the allegations into cognisance, the court asked the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to submit a report before it after investigating. The plaintiff is Md Hemayet Hossain, a resident of the port city’s Halishahar area. Read more: GK Shamim: Court sets Sept 25 for verdict in arms case On the other hand, the accused are the district administration’s Senior Assistant Commissioner (land acquisition department) and Executive Magistrate Ahsan Murad, land surveyor Mohammad Abdul Mumin, surveyors Mohammad Iman Hossain Gazi, Muktar Hossain, Abu Kawsar Sohel and their office attendant Belayet Hossain Bulu. According to the case statement, the victim’s grandfather Omda Miah had two families. Of them, there were two each sons and daughters in the first family and four sons in the second family. four sons of the second family obtained some lands from their grandfather as heirs but the first family’s members could not accept the matter.Meanwhile, the government took the land as acquisition for the Bangabandhu Tunnel through the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram. Centering the matter, victim Hemayet, a member of the first family, filed a case with a civil court in Chattogram earlier. Subsequently both the groups moved the High Court that ordered to take the money equally. Following the order, a deal was inked between them over sharing the money on March 13, 2016. Dodging the first family’s members, the members of the second family kept the money of the land acquisition under the custody of the prime accused. Read more: No prior permission needed to arrest govt officials for criminal offence The victim and others submitted a written complaint seeking money to the executive magistrate Ahsan Murad but they received no response in this regard for a long time. November 10 this year, the victim along with one Md Fakhrul Islam went to the magistrate’s office and wanted to know about the update of their complaint.At one stage of the altercation, all the accused allegedly harassed the duo physically and abused them verbally.    

The inauguration of Bangabandhu Tunnel, under Karnaphuli river, will be done in two segments and open to traffic in October and November this year, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said today (September 7, 2022). “As it (the tunnel) has two tubes, the first tube will be inaugurated in October and the other in November. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate both tubes of the Bangabandhu tunnel,” he said. The minister revealed this information while speaking at a programme, organised by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporter’s Forum (BSRF) at the Secretariat in Dhaka. Read: Chinese firm CCCC tipped for toll collection, maintenance of Bangabandhu Tunnel Besides, construction work of Kalna Bridge will be finished this month (September) and the PM will inaugurate it any time in October, he said. Talking about Dhaka Metro Rail project, the minister said 94% work of the metro rail – from Uttara to Agargaon point – has been completed, which will be inaugurated this December. Metro rail from Uttara to Motijheel point is expected to be inaugurated in December, next year. He also said, 52% of construction work of the Elevated Expressway has been finished and it is going on in full swing. Read Light at the end of Karnaphuli tunnel BSRF general secretary Masudul Haque presided over the dialogue chaired by its president Tapan Biswas.

Chinese firm China Communication Construction Company Limited (CCCCL will be appointed as service provider for the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel under Karnaphuli River in Chattagram. Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) at a meeting approved a proposal in this regard on Wednesday. The same company has been engaged by the government to build the tunnel and its associated infrastructure. As per the proposal, the Chinese company will collect the toll from the tunnel user vehicles and also conduct its operation and maintenance work at a cost of Tk 983.82 crore for a five-year tenure. However, the toll structure for the vehicles has yet not been determined by the government. The under-construction Tunnel is the first underwater expressway in the country, expected to be open to traffic by the end of 2022. According to officials of the project, 86 per cent of the tunnel construction, including the construction of the main tunnel and the approach roads in Chattogram, has been completed. Read:Construction companies claim "breakthrough" in Bangabandhu Tunnel work The main tunnel is 3.32 kilometres long. It has two tubes, each 2.45 km long, and has a diameter of 10.80 metres. Each tube will consist of two lanes. The tubes are 12 metres apart from each other. There will be a 5.35 km connecting road on the west and east ends of the main tunnel, along with a 727-metre long bridge. The tunnel goes under the Karnaphuli at the Patenga Naval Academy point in the port city to a depth of 18m to 31m to Anwara Upazila on the other side of the river. Officials believe there will be better connectivity between the tourist city Cox’s Bazar, southern Chattogram and the rest of the country once the tunnel is open. It will also decrease the number of vehicles using the two bridges over the river. South of the river in Anwara lies the Korean and Chinese export processing zones, the CUFL factory and Parki Beach. All routes to Cox's Bazar, Banshkhali and Matarbari power station and deep seaport go through Anwara. Work on the project began in December 2017. But the pace of work was a bit slow during the coronavirus pandemic. Official said the construction of the two tubes of the tunnel under the river has already been completed. The first tube took 17 months to complete, but the second one was completed in 10 months. Structural work on the tunnel is currently ongoing. Jointly funded by Bangladesh and China, the initial cost of the project was estimated at Tk 9880 crore. The cost was subsequently revised up to Tk 10,374 crore. END/UNB/

The  Bangabandhu Tunnel under the river Karnaphuli , first of a kind in Bangladesh is expected to be open for vehicular movements next year, and it could even be well ahead of the scheduled time of December 2022. Confirming the information, Harunur Rashid Chowdhury, project director of Karnaphuli Tunnel said,”‘One of the positive aspects of this project is that its duration and cost have not been increased. The work is being completed within the stipulated time.”  “There is a possibility that the construction works might even end earlier than scheduled,” he added. The project director further said that manpower and equipment have been increased to speed up the work. “Work is going on in full swing. We are working towards the goal of opening for moving vehicles through the tunnel before the end of next year.” The construction work of the dream project reached a major milestone with completion of all boring-related work last Thursday, that arrived with the excavation of the second tube ( from Anwara end of Chittagong to Patenga end) of the 3.315-km tunnel. The boring work of the first tube was completed in the first week of August last year. Project sources told UNB that 73 % construction work of Karnaphuli tunnel has been done and dusted. In the first year after it opens to vehicular movement,  some 6.3 milli0n (63 lakh) vehicles will pass through this tunnel. In a few years, the amount of traffic will reach 14 million per year, the peo  Most of these vehicles will be container trailers, various types of good laden trucks and covered vans. Besides, tourist buses, cars and other vehicles can also move through the tunnel, making lives much easier for the national and international tourists. Also read: Karnaphuli Tunnel Project makes "breakthrough" amid Covid-19

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel has witnessed a significant progress as the construction companies termed it a "breakthrough". “With the cutter of the tunnel boring machine cutting through the wall, China Communications Construction Company Limited, the EPC Contractor, and China Road and Bridge Corporation, the Constructor, "successfully achieved breakthrough" of both tubes of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, making the remarkable progress of the first overseas large-diameter underwater TBM tunnel undertaken by Chinese company,” said the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka on Thursday. Located at the river mouth in Chattogram, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel project is 9.3km long, in which the length of the tunnel shield section is 2450m while the tunnel outer diameter is 11.8m. With a diameter of 12.12 meters and a weight of 2200 tons, the CCCC self-developed and manufactured large-diameter slurry pressure balanced tunnel boring machine is used for construction of the project. Read: Tunnel under Jamuna: Feasibility study underway

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said he will work with President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to strengthen the complementarities between two development strategies, advance Belt and Road cooperation, and take the strategic partnership of cooperation to a new height.