CHITTAGONG: Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader Friday said the construction work of a tunnel under the Karnaphuli River will be inaugurated in December this year.

Mentioning Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to inaugurate the construction of the 3.5km tunnel as per his schedule available, the minister said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested Chinese Foreign Minister for President’s schedule.

The tunnel, which will connect Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway, will be built by a US$100-crore Chinese finance. The process of construction work of the project will begin in June-July, Obaidul added.

He told reporters during a visit to proposed Kanarphuli tunnel site in the morning. Members of Parliament MA Latif and Shamsul Haq Chowdhury were also present during the time.

On June 10, 2014, Bangladesh and China have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on construction of a tunnel under the Karnaphuli river in Chittagong.

As per the MoU, the Chinese government would construct the tunnel at an estimated cost of US$ 100 crore.

Vice Minister of Ministry of Transport and Communication of China Chi-Kuo Mao and Communication Secretary Khandakar Anwarul Islam signed the MoU in Beijing, the Chinese capital.

BDST: 1448 HRS, JAN 02, 2015