Bangabandhu Tunnel: 2 ends meet under Karnaphuli river

The two ends of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel were joined beneath the Karnaphuli river on Thursday afternoon.

With the cutter of the tunnel boring machine cutting through the wall, China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), the contractor, and China Road and Bridge Corporation, the constructor, successfully achieved breakthrough of both tubes of the tunnel.

The Chinese embassy in Dhaka announced the news on its verified Facebook page at around 11:38pm on Thursday.

Located at the river mouth in Chittagong, the tunnel is 9.3km long, in which the length of the tunnel shield section is 2,450m while the tunnel outer diameter is 11.8m.

With a diameter of 12.12 meters and a weight of 2,200 tons, the CCCC self-developed and manufactured large-diameter slurry pressure balanced tunnel boring machine is used for construction of the project.

Facing various difficulties caused by the Covid-19, the Project Department made scientific arrangements and organized in advance to ensure progress per schedule.

The construction progress and excellent quality of the project have been highly recognized and praised by the Bangladeshi employer and international consultants.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel Project is the first underwater Tunnel in South Asia, and also the first overseas large-diameter underwater TBM tunnel undertaken by Chinese Company and an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The project is funded by Export-Import Bank of China, designed and built with Chinese Standard and Chinese machines, implemented and managed by Chinese companies, and will become a shining business card of the overseas Chinese Tunnel after completion.

The completion of the tunnel project will greatly improve the traffic conditions in Chittagong, and promote economic development of Bangladesh.

It also plays an important role in improving the Asian Highway Network, strengthening the connectivity between Bangladesh and neighboring countries, and boosting the international development of Bangladesh, said the embassy.