Two ends of Bangabandhu Tunnel meet under Karnaphuli river 

Two ends of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel were brought together under the Karnaphuli river yesterday afternoon. 

With the tunnel boring machine cutting through the wall, China Communications Construction Company Limited, the contractor, and China Road and Bridge Corporation, the constructor, successfully achieved breakthrough of both tubes of the tunnel.

The Chinese embassy in Dhaka shared the news on its verified Facebook page at 11:38pm last night. 

The 9.3-kilometre Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel is the first underwater tunnel in South Asia, and also the first overseas large-diameter underwater TBM tunnel undertaken by a Chinese company and an important part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese embassy's post said. 

The completion of the tunnel Project will greatly improve the traffic conditions in Chattogram and promote economic development of Bangladesh.

It will also play an important role in improving the Asian Highway Network, strengthening the connectivity between Bangladesh and neighbouring countries, the Chinese embassy said in its post.