Quader opens boring of Bangabandhu tunnel 2nd tube

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Saturday inaugurated the boring of the second tube of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, under the Karnaphuli River in the port city of Chittagong.

The minister conducted the inauguration virtually from his official residence on the parliament premises in Dhaka.

Quader, also Awami League general secretary, said the tunnel is being built at a cost of Tk10,400 crore and 61% of the work of the project has been completed.

He said the 9.1km tunnel would be the first of its kind in South Asia.

The minister said the tunnel is being built to turn Chittagong into “One City, Two Towns,” like Shanghai city in China.

The tunnel will provide a modern communication system between Dhaka, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, and connect the Asian highway.

Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam, Bridges Division Secretary Md Belayet Hossain, Project Director Harun-or-Rashid, other officials of the project and Bangladesh Navy members joined the ceremony virtually from Chittagong.