‘Vehicles run underwater’

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that I have come in Chattogram with a special gift-‘Vehicles run underwater’.

Sheikh Hasina, also Awami League president, said this while addressing a public rally on Korean EPZ (KEPZ) ground at Anwara on Saturday.

Bangladesh is moving forward today because Awami League is in power, she said, adding that "No one can hold back this Bangladesh. This is the reality."

Sheikh Hasina at the rally ground also formally inaugurated the country's first ever much-anticipated nearly 3.315km underwater expressway "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel".

It is first of its kind in South Asia, constructed beneath the River Karnaphuli connecting the city's Patenga with Anwara upazila.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a goodwill message on this occasion. The message was read out by Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen, and later he handed it over to the premier.

The premier also released a special commemorative postage stamp and first day cover along with special canceller, marking the inauguration of the tunnel.

She also unveiled commemorative note of Taka 50 to mark the occasion.

At the outset of the function, a video documentary on the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel was screened.

The 9.39 km-long tunnel, including approach road, built at a cost of Taka 10,689 crore will be opened to vehicles from 6am on Monday.

The tunnel's two tubes are spaced approximately 12 meters apart. Both tubes feature two lanes for traffic, and a 5.35-kilometre connecting road is situated at each end of the tunnel, with an additional 727-metre-long over-bridge at the Anwara end.

In terms of connecting two regions of the country, the tunnel is the second "dream scheme" in road transport sector after the Padma Bridge. The tunnel has been built following the "one city two towns" model like Shanghai in China.