China and Hong Kong-based consultant firm China Communication Construction Company – Arup JV may submit the final report on the feasibility study on the Karnaphuli River Tunnel project to the Bangladesh Bridge Authority towards the end of this month.
Consultant of the project Habibur Rahman told New Age on Monday that if everything was alright, the consultant firm would submit the final report on the feasibility study to the BBA at the end of June.
‘We have already held two separate presentations on the draft final report of the feasibility study — one in Chittagong and the other in Dhaka — to take the opinions from all stakeholders and authorities concerned on the project.
‘Now we are working to prepare the final report of the feasibility study,’ he said, adding that the holding of the two separate presentations was mandatory before submitting the final report.
Habibur Rahman said there would be no major change in the final report of the feasibility study as there was no significant recommendation of change suggested by the stakeholders and the department concerned during the presentation on the draft final report.
However, the fate of the much-hyped 3400-meter multi-lanes tunnel beneath the River Karnaphuli River now hangs in the balance.
There is no significant sign of starting the implementation works of the project excepting the feasibility study within the tenure of the current government.
The tunnel project is the mega project for the Chittagong region undertaken by any government after the country’s independence.
Communications minister Obaidul Quader during his visit to the proposed site of the tunnel at the port city’s Patenga Naval Academy on November 6 last year told journalists that implementation works on the Karnaphuli River Tunnel would start in the beginning of 2013-2014 fiscal.
A high-official of the Chittagong Development Authority told New Age that before going for the implementation works of the tunnel project the government should start the implementation works of Chittagong City Outer Ring Road project as the ring road would perform as the feeder road of the tunnel.
‘Since the signing of the loan agreement between the government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, four years have already passed but the public works and housing ministry, the implementing agency of the project, is yet to start works on the project due to non-availability of fund from the government,’ he added.
According to sources in the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, the Chinese government had formally shown keen interest in funding the tunnel project early last year.
But till today no decision came from the government about the source of funding the river tunnel, the BBA sources said, adding that India and Malaysia also showed interest in funding the tunnel projects.
The draft final report of the feasibility study conducted by CCCC-Arup JV recommended the TBM ((Tunnel Boring Machine) method to construct the tunnel beneath the Karnaphuli considering soil condition of the river bed and advantages of the state-of-art technology which limits all works underground in building the tunnel to keep the disturbance to land, wildlife and mankind activities at ground level to a minimum throughout the construction period.
The draft final report of the feasibility study also recommended the Alignment-C (Patenga Naval Academy) as the suitable site for Karnaphuli River Tunnel upon the comprehensive comparison with other alignments, based on the country conditions and the long term development of Bangladesh, by considering the various factors of service function, traffic function, construction scale, construction risk and construction cost.
As per the election pledge made to the people of Chittagong, the Awami League government undertook the country’s first-ever river tunnel project in 2010 with a view to boosting road linkage between Chittagong and the fast-booming tourist town of Cox’s Bazar as well as accelerating the development of other side of the river.
The government appointed the consultant firm in March, 2011 to conduct feasibility studies for the construction of a tunnel beneath the river Karnaphuli at a cost of Tk 18 crore.
Bangladesh Bridge Authority has been assigned to implement the Karnaphuli River Tunnel project worth Tk 5000-Tk 6000 crore.
-With New Age input
