Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel (Bengali: বঙ্গবন্ধু শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান টানেল), also known as Karnaphuli Tunnel, is an underwater expressway tunnel in the port city of Chittagong, Bangladesh under the Karnaphuli river. The length of the entire route is 9.39 kilometres (5.83 mi), with the tunnel making up 3.32 kilometres (2.06 mi) of the length. The tunnel diameter is 10.80 metres (35.4 ft). It is expected, over 17,000 vehicles will be able to use this tunnel daily. The cost of the project is estimated at US$1.1B, of which around half is financed by the Exim Bank of China. The Bangabandhu Tunnel is the first underwater road tunnel in South Asia. It is expected to improve the Dhaka–Chittagong–Cox's Bazar highway network. A Chinese company, China Communications Construction Company, was selected to construct it. The tunnel segments were produced in Zhenjiang, China.
Nameplate at the entrance of the tunnel | |
Location of the tunnel in Patenga To Anwara Upazila, Chattogram Division | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Other name(s) | Karnaphuli Tunnel |
| Location | Chittagong, Bangladesh |
| Coordinates | 22.2304°N 91.8044°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Waterway | Karnaphuli River |
| Route | 2 |
| Start | South Patenga |
| End | Anwara Upazila |
| Operation | |
| Opened | October 28, 2023 |
| Owner | Government of Bangladesh |
| Traffic | 17,000 per day |
| Toll | ৳200-৳1,000 |
| Technical | |
| Design engineer | Chinese |
| Length | 3.32 km (9.39 km including approach road) |
| No. of lanes | 4 |
| Operating speed | Maximum 80 km/h |
| Width | 10.8 m |
| Depth of tunnel below water level | 18 to 31 m |
| Grade | A1 |