Karnaphuli tunnel to be inaugurated on Feb 24
Noting that Chattogram is the heartbeat of the country's economy, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said the port city will become "one city with two towns" after completion of the Bangabandhu Tunnel, being constructed beneath the Karnaphuli River.
"It is the first tunnel in South Asia. About 95.50 percent work of the tunnel project has been completed so far and it will be inaugurated on February 24," he said.
He made the remarks while exchanging views with journalists at the circuit house in Chattogram.
Quader, also the general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, said once upon a time, none thought that Bangabandhu Tunnel would turn Chattogram into "one city with two towns" like Shanghai in China.
He said revealed that the feasibility study of metro rail project in Chattogram will be completed on January 31.
He also said, "We are going through a difficult and challenging time. Russia-Ukraine war is going on, and sanctions and counter-sanctions of Europe and America are being imposed on each other, and as a result, one-third of the world's countries are now moving towards a big rescission."
Mentioning that the living cost in Europe has reached a record 40-year high, he said Sri Lanka's foreign reserve stands at the bottom while Pakistan's reserve is also in a critical condition now.
He said there is no doubt that the prices of all commodities have increased in Bangladesh.
Amid the global economic crisis, Bangladesh's reserve is still in a good position, Quader added.
He said the reserve of Bangladesh, a developing country, is now US$ 34 billion and still it has the capacity to import goods for five months with the reserve.
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