Noting Chattogram as the heartbeat of the country's economy, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said it will become "one city with two towns" after completion of the Bangabandhu Tunnel, being constructed beneath the Karnaphuli River.

"It is the first tunnel in South Asia. About 95.50 percent work of the tunnel project has been completed so far and it will be inaugurated on February 24," he said while exchanging views with journalists at local the circuit house here.
Quader, also the general secretary of Bangladesh Awami League (AL), said once upon a time, none thought that Bangabandhu Tunnel would turn Chattogram into "one city with two towns" like Shanghai in China.

He said revealed that the feasibility study of metro rail project in Chattogram will be completed on January 31.
 
Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has taken the responsibility of country's development giving economic freedom to the people of the country, he said.
The AL general secretary said when the World Bank withdrew its funding from the Padma Bridge project, the dream was going to be broken.
 
Then Sheikh Hasina stood in the House and announced that Padma Bridge would be constructed with own funding, he said, adding: "Padma Bridge is no longer a dream but a reality now."

Quader said: "We are going through a difficult and challenging time. Russia-Ukraine war is going on, and sanctions and counter-sanctions of Europe and America are being imposed on each other, and as a result, one-third of the world's countries are now moving towards a big rescission".

Mentioning that the living cost in Europe has reached a record 40-year high, he said Sri Lanka's foreign reserve stands at the bottom while Pakistan's reserve is also in a critical condition now.

He said there is no doubt that the prices of all commodities have increased in Bangladesh.
 
Amid the global economic crisis, Bangladesh's reserve is still in a good position due to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Quader added.

He said the reserve of Bangladesh, a developing country, is now US$ 34 billion and still it has the capacity to import goods for five months with the reserve.
 
Chattogram City AL Acting President Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury and its General Secretary AJM Nashir Uddin, Chattogram North District AL President MA Salam, its General Secretary Sheikh Ataur Rahman, Chattogram South District AL General Secretary Mofizur Rahman, Chatogram Development Authority Chairman Zahirul Alam Dubash, Chattogram Jilla Parisad Chairman ATM Paiyrul Islam and Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Abul Basar Mohammad Fakhruzzaman were, among others, present at the function.