-17K vehicles expected to run, 4000 moving only
- Total cost Tk 37.5 lakh per day, Tk 12 lakh earned, Tk 25 lakh loss
- BD have to pay Tk 684 crore annually for tunnel loan
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel is in huge sums of loss every day. Vehicles are not moving as expected through the tunnel built under the Karnaphuli river at a cost of more than Tk 10,500 crore. Vehicular movement through the tunnel has been open since October 2023. A pre-construction survey claimed that the tunnel would average over 17,000 vehicles a day in its first year of operation. But according to the information of Bangladesh Bridge Authority, about 4000 vehicles are moving through the tunnel every day since the traffic was opened.
And currently, the amount of vehicles plying through the tunnel earns about Tk 12 lakh per day toll. But toll collection money is raising one third of the maintenance cost. An average of Tk 37.5 lakh is being spent daily on ancillary works including toll collection and maintenance. A portion of this is spent on overall safety and emergency security measures, apart from supplying artificial oxygen and lighting to the tunnel. In other words, there is a loss of Tk 25 lakh per day in the tunnel. This information is known from sources related to the bridge authority.
According to the sources concerned, a feasibility study was conducted in 2013 to construct a tunnel under the Karnaphuli River. Then the survey was conducted in the year 2017, the year of tunnel operation. However, the tunnel opened on October 29, 2023. According to the survey, more than 17,000 vehicles can run on an average per day during the tunnel's opening year. In 2020 it is said to be around 21 thousand and around 28 thousand by 2025. But currently, about 4,500 vehicles pass through the tunnel every day. That is, the number of vehicles currently crossing is only 30 percent of the target. Due to which the toll collection is 70 percent less than the target.
The government has given the task of maintenance and toll collection to the China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) for five years. The contractor will have to pay Tk 684 crore annually. As such, the daily cost of maintenance stands at Tk 37.5 lakh taka.
According to the sources, the study of the tunnel said that major maintenance of the tunnel should be done once every five years. This is called regular maintenance. One such maintenance work will cost about 1.9 million dollars, which is equivalent to Tk 21 crore in Bangladeshi currency. The cost of construction of the tunnel was initially estimated at Tk 8 thousand 447 crore. Later the expenditure increased to Tk 10 thousand 689 crore. Exim Bank of China gave a loan of Tk 6,700 crore out of the expenditure.
Meanwhile, according to experts, the tunnel was an unnecessarily ambitious project. There was a need for public bridges at various places including Kalurghat, Rangunia Chandraghona on the Karnaphuli river. Ten bridges could have been built with the money spent on the tunnels. The then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated it on October 28, 2023. Vehicular movement through the tunnel was opened from October 29. 5 thousand 678 vehicles crossed on the first day. Tk 12 lakh 13 thousand 300 has been collected in this toll.
Many ambitious architects in the country opposed the project and argued against it. But still unnecessary projects like tunnels have been implemented. With the amount of money spent on the tunnel, it would have been possible to build ten bridges on the Karnaphuli river. Those who checked the probability gave wrong information. This project is unlikely to ever see a profit. Because if there is more traffic in the tunnel, the cost will also increase.
But the people of South Chittagong have been agitating for a long time for a Kalurghat Bridge and not a tunnel. On the other hand, Tunnel Toll Manager Belayet Hossain said that since the inauguration till September 26, Tk 13 lakh 16 thousand 226 vehicles have traveled through the tunnel. Tk 34 crore 62 lakh has been collected toll for those vehicles. Private cars are the most frequent. Next is Zip and Micro. Most of them are tourist cars. The number of public transport is very less.
ZH
