Hasina, Jinping to lay foundations of two big projects

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to lay foundations of two mega projects in Chittagong next week.

BSS, quoting State Minister for Land Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Zabed, reports that the two leaders are set to lay foundation of Chinese Special Economic and Industrial Zone (CSEIZ) and Karnaphuli River Tunnel on October 14.

"The foundation laying will be held through video conferencing from the capital city," said Zabed.

Xi Jinping is coming to Dhaka on October 14 on a two-day official visit.

The two projects are financed by China. The total amount of the projects is Tk 360 billion. Of the total amount Tk 200 billion would be spent for building a tunnel under the river Karnaphuli and Tk 160 billion for the special economic and industrial zone.

Officials earlier said contraction works of the two projects were expected to begin in 2017 and to be completed in 2020.

"The Karnaphuli Tunnel and Industrial Zone will open a new horizon for industrialisation in southern Chittagong . . . they would contribute to the country`s economic growth and bring significant improvement to the livelihood of local community," Jabed said.

A memorandum of understanding (Mou) on building the country’s first ever tunnel was signed by the two countries during Hasina’s 2014 Beijing visit.

The multilane tunnel route will pass through the river close to Navy College on one side and Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) and Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company (KAFCO) on the other.

The tunnel will cut the road distance between Chittagong and Cox`s Bazar, apart from facilitating the heavy traffic on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway entering the port city to go to other parts of Chittagong division.

The tunnel will also connect Chittagong Port and Anowara Upazila and is expected to ease the port city`s communication with Cox`s Bazar and particularly the traffic on two bridges over the Karnaphuli River.

Chinese Special Economic and Industrial Zone will be developed in Anwara upazila on 774 acres of land to meet the growing domestic and global demands for Bangladeshi products. On completion, the industrial park will accommodate around 371 industrial units.

BEZA already signed a MoU with a Chinese company for developing the CSEIZ at Anwara Upazila of the district.

The proposed site of the zone is 39 kilometres from Chittagong port, 28 kilometres from Chittagong city and 46 kilometres from Shah Amanat International Airport.