China lockdowns delay Karnaphuli tunnel project by 6 months

China’s strict Covid-19 lockdowns wreaked havoc at Shanghai, the world’s biggest container port and a large manufacturing hub, and are now causing problems for the Multi-Lane Road Tunnel under the River Karnaphuli in Chattogram.

“As stated, this has already started impacting the progress of the main tunnel construction works and as such the completion of the main tunnel works also may not be completed in time,” said Harunur Rashid Chowdhury, project director of the Karnaphuli tunnel project, in a letter sent to the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) on May 24.

The project is supposed to be completed by December 4, 2022, and the emerging situation forced the tunnel project office to seek an extension of time by six months for the loan availability from China’s EXIM Bank.
Amid this situation, the project office has requested the BBA to take up the matter with the Economic Relations Division.

Earlier, in a letter sent to BBA on May 8, Chowdhury, the project director, said Shanghai Port has remained closed since March 2022 due to Covid-19 and a zero-tolerance policy of the Chinese government is affecting the project’s progress.

“It may be noted that the contractor’s most of the goods and equipment are being manufactured/procured from Shanghai. Therefore, the closure of the Shanghai Port is causing a delay in shipments,” read the letter.

“The goods and equipment planned to arrive in March this year are still not able to reach Chittagong Port to date. Subsequent shipments will also get affected on this account,” said the letter.

In the letter, Chowdhury also requested the BBA to take up the issue with the ERD and arrange an extension of the loan availability period by six months until May 6, 2023.

On May 7, Li Zheng, project manager of the Karnaphuli Tunnel Project Site Office, in a letter to the project director admitted the delay in shipments from Shanghai because of his country’s zero Covid measures.

Bangladesh is implementing the 9.1-km tunnel under the River Karnaphuli at a cost of Tk 10,374 crore. It is one of the priority and mega projects of the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.