Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has said on a daily basis 17,260 vehicles will be able to use Karnaphuli Tunnel, officially known as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, the first under-river road tunnel in Bangladesh, equating to some 7.6 million vehicles a year.
The tunnel would help increase the country's annual GDP growth by 0.166%, Quader, who is also general secretary of the ruling Awami League, told reporters at a press briefing at Setu Bhaban in Dhaka on Thursday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would inaugurate the tunnel on Saturday and it would be open for traffic from 6am the next day, the minister said.
After inaugurating the tunnel, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address a rally at the EPZ ground in Anwara, Chittagong.
“The distance between the main city of Chittagong and the seaport and the airport will also decrease. This tunnel will play a very important role in making the economy more dynamic. One of the reasons for the construction of this tunnel is to radically change and modernize the road communication system of Chittagong,” Quader said.
