A Chinese-built underwater tunnel, the first in Bangladesh and South Asia, was inaugurated on Saturday as Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid the first toll and went through the tunnel.
Hasina and Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen also attended the inauguration ceremony of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel.
The much-awaited tunnel, some 242 km southeast of the capital Dhaka, was built with joint funding from the governments of Bangladesh and China, and was constructed by China Communications Construction Company Ltd.
Yu Jingtao, the project manager, told Xinhua that the tunnel was constructed with Chinese design, technology and standards. According to the actual situation and characteristics of Bangladesh, the Chinese team also compiled a technical guide for the project, which applied Chinese norms, to accelerate Bangladeshi development in this field.
Yu Jingtao, the project manager, told Xinhua that the tunnel was constructed with Chinese design, technology and standards. According to the actual situation and characteristics of Bangladesh, the Chinese team also compiled a technical guide for the project, which applied Chinese norms, to accelerate Bangladeshi development in this field.
The tunnel will connect the proposed Asian Highway to Dhaka-Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar Highway and will reduce the distance from Chattogram to the southeastern sea beach town Cox’s Bazar by 40 km.
More mega projects will be established due to this tunnel, said Saiful Islam Chaudhry, associate professor of the University of Chittagong, adding “I am sure that it will play a massive role in flourishing the Bangladeshi economy.”
