WITH the beginning of the construction work of the tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli River, Bangladesh enters a new level of development era. After completion of the construction of the tunnel, it will significantly contribute to the Port City’s socio-economic progress. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday inaugurated the construction work of 3.4km-long Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel and the construction of 16.5km-long elevated expressway from Lalkhan Bazar to Shah Amanat Airport in the city. Definitely, the construction of the tunnel and expressway ushers hope for the city which is mired with myriad problems of poor urban design, water logging, land slide and insufficient utility services.
The tunnel is being built at the cost of Tk 9,880.40 crore to turn Chattogram into “One City, Two Towns”. Of the project cost, Tk 3,967.21 crore will come from the government and the rest from the Chinese government. China Communication and Construction Company have been constructing the 9.3km tunnel, about 3.4km of which would be under the river. The expressway’s construction cost is estimated to be Tk 3,250 crore. It is anticipated to complete the construction work by 2022 that would ease communication and boost trade and businesses along with industrialization of this area.
The link road of the country’s first tunnel would be connected to the Cox’s Bazar-Patiya four-lane road. The tunnel will go from Chattogram to Anwara and the road will be connected with the Patiya four-lane from Anwara. The government’s plans include construction of a marine drive from Chattogram to Cox’s Bazar. Construction of some infrastructure is not development unless the structures meet the development needs of human development in terms of their livelihood and cognitive development.
Unless fixing the waterlogging, landslide and slowness in container handling in the Port and addressing the deforestation, environmental degradation, poor utility service, acute traffic jam and poor waste management, the development of shining infrastructure would not bring quality change of the people.
