Chattogram Bureau :
The construction work of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel is not being completed before the stipulated time (next December). The project is scheduled to run until December this year. Although 80 per cent of the physical infrastructure work of the 3.32 km tunnel has been completed, 20 per cent of the main work of the tunnel, including the approach road on both sides, is still pending, said the project director.
In addition to the expectations of the people in the area, the project stakeholders also said that the tunnel would be completed before the completion of the project and would be opened to the public. Visiting the Anwara section of the tunnel last Friday, it was seen that the rest of the work of the tunnel including the approach road on both sides is going on day and night. However, there is still some work to be done. It is learned that the work of the tunnel will not be completed before December this year. There are even doubts about whether it will end in December.
In her address to the nation on January 7, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced that the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel would be opened to traffic in October. Since then, the people of the region have been hoping to use the much awaited Bangabandhu Tunnel.
In this regard, the director of the tunnel construction project Harunur Rashid Chowdhury told the media, “We are continuing our efforts to complete the work of the tunnel in time by December.” I’m not saying this will end the work. But the work is almost at an end. So far, 80 percent of the tunnel has been completed. Work is now underway to build paved roads and set up utility lines for vehicular traffic inside the tunnel. All in all, 20 percent of the main work, including the approach road, is still left. Mentioning the duration of the project till next December, he said, “We are working to complete the work within the period.”
According to project officials, the hardest part of the tunnel construction has already been completed. Authorities are now constructing 5.35 km of approach roads and tunnels and laying utility lines.
