The tunnel of pride built by domestic products!
Small grains of sand, drop of water, build the continent ocean abyss...! This is how Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, a symbol of Bangladesh's capability, has been built with small pieces of cement and sand and iron. And behind the construction of this tunnel, cement, sand and rods have been supplied hundred percent from domestic sources.
Through this, the domestic companies have not only gained the glory of adding their product name on the tunnel, but also expressed their capabilities in the international arena.
On Saturday (October 28) morning, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the tunnel connecting the two ends of the Karnaphuli river. From now through this tunnel, in just three minutes from Patenga, through the 18 to 31 meters deep bottom of the Karnaphuli river, you can reach Anowara by crossing 3.32 kilometers.
Bangabandhu Tunnel is not only the first under-river tunnel in the history of Bangladesh, but also the first such tunnel in South Asia. The project of Bangladesh Bridge Authority has been implemented by the Chinese contractor China Communication Construction Company Limited (CCCCL). As the country does not have the capacity to construct such tunnels, the project was implemented with foreign contractors, but emphasis has been placed on the use of indigenous materials and construction materials.
It is true that the main material ring or segment of the two tunnels of the tunnel came from China. After the segment, one of the materials for the construction of the tunnel, rods, cement and sand have been provided by the domestic companies. Apart from this, the domestic companies have also provided other materials including electric wire-lamps to keep the tunnel lit day and night.
The matter of giving importance to the use of domestic products has also come up in the voice of the director of the tunnel project, Harun Ur Rashid Chowdhury. He said, "The entire project has been implemented by the Chinese company CCCCL. It is true that the project has been implemented by an external contractor as our capacity is not yet there, but in the implementation of the project importance has been given to the products produced by domestic companies. The domestic construction companies have provided various important materials including rods, cement, sand, cables in the tunnel.
The segment comes from China:
The tunnel has been constructed at a depth of 18 to 31 meters below the Karnaphuli River. First excavation is done by Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). Then the main structure-segments of the tunnel are installed step by step. Eight segments weighing 11.5 tons are placed round to form a ring of 2 meters each. It is then placed inside the tunnel. Each ring weighs about 88 tons. A total of 19 thousand 616 segments have to be installed in the two tunnels of the tunnel. The steel segment was sourced from the Tunnel Segment Casting Plant in Zhengjiang City, Jiangsu Province, China.
MS rods are supplied by three domestic institutions:
According to the calculations of the authorities implementing the tunnel and the companies supplying construction materials, a total of 37 thousand 500 metric tons of steel had to be used in the entire project of the tunnel. All of theseMS rods have been supplied by the country's three MS rod manufacturing companies BSRM, KSRM and GPH Ispat. 72 percent of the tunnel i.e. 27 thousand metric tons of MS rod was supplied by BSRM. Of the remaining MS rods, KSRM supplied 7,000 metric tons and GPH Ispat supplied 3,500 metric tons of MS rods.
Three domestic companies in cement supply:
215 thousand metric tons of cement was required to implement the entire tunnel. 100% of these construction materials have come from three domestic companies Premier Cement, Ruby Cement and Confidence Cement. Out of this, Premier Cement supplied 85 thousand metric tons, Ruby Cement 75 thousand metric tons and Confidence Cement 55 thousand metric tons of cement.
Cables came from three companies:
Thousands of lamps have been placed inside the tunnel for lighting. Along with this, a jet fan has also been installed to keep the air moving. For these heavy lamps and fans, special cables with 750 degree tolerance have to be used in the tunnel. And these cables have been provided by three manufacturers of the country. BBS Cables supplied 80 percent of the cables. The remaining cables were provided by BRB Cables and state-owned Eastern Cables Limited.
That is, tunnel MS rods, cement, cables have been produced by nine local companies. And naturally produced sand also cames from domestic sources. These sands were brought from Moulvibazar in Sylhet.
However, stones, lights, fire boards, decorative boards used for projects like segments have to be imported from abroad. The stone in it came from Dubai. The rest were brought from different countries.
Traders feel that the use of indigenous products in the construction of tunnels has added a new dimension to the construction materials industry. Through this, the capacity of the construction companies of Bangladesh was also sent to the world. As a result, the amount of export of various construction materials including MS rods, cement, cables from Bangladesh to various countries will increase.