Chinese firm places feasibility report on Karnaphuli tunnel

China Communication Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) yesterday placed a feasibility study for a multi-lane road tunnel under the Karnaphuli River to Bangladesh Bridge Authority.

The company proposed to build the 3.5-kilometre-long tunnel at least 33 metres down from the river bed at a cost of over $700 million, according to the report.

The tunnel may start from the entrance of Shah Amanat International Airport and end at the naval gate (South) area in Patenga, said the officials of CCCC.

They spoke at a progra-mme organised by Bangladesh Bridge Authority with the assistance of Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) in the port city.

The government plans to start the project from the early next fiscal year, and it has been taking opinions and suggestions from the establishments situated at the river bank, said Khondoker Anwarul Islam, secretary of the bridge authority.

Another city will be set up at the southern bank of the Karnaphuli River after the completion of the tunnel, which will save a lot of time for Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar bound transports to reach their destination, he said.

Earlier, Chief Representative of CCCC Wu Guangsheng and Senior Engineer Dqvid Lip placed a power point presentation on the project

Source: The Daily Star