The cabinet committee on purchase yesterday approved the proposal to award the Tk 291-crore project of supervising the construction work of Karnaphuli tunnel to a multinational joint venture.

The company led by SMEC International Private Ltd, Australia would review and supervise the design and construction work of the tunnel, according to the proposal of the Bridges Division.

Among the three companies that were able to meet the criteria, the Australian firm got the highest score in the technical evaluation but the lowest in financial assessment.

However, the job went to the company, as it got the highest score combinedly.

On November 24, 2015, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the much-hyped Tk 8,446.64-crore multilane road tunnel project under the river.

Of the amount, China will provide Tk 4,799 crore or $705 million. The Chinese government has nominated China Communication Construction Company for the construction work.

In June last year, the cabinet committee on economic affairs gave its consent to awarding the job to the company.

The construction work of Karnaphuli tunnel will begin soon, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told parliament on June 30.

“After signing a credit agreement with the Chinese government, the project is expected to be completed by 2020,” Quader said.

A commercial agreement was signed with the Chinese company last year, but no loan agreement has yet been signed.

The construction work of the tunnel may start in October during the visit of the Chinese president to Bangladesh, the Bridges Division official said.

The tunnel, which will be the first-of-its-kind in Bangladesh, would improve the Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox's Bazar road network. It can later be linked to the planned Asian highway network, enabling road links with Myanmar and India.

The tunnel would significantly facilitate transit traffic, relieve the existing bridges of traffic pressure and promote regional economic growth, according to a government study.

The cost of building the Karnaphuli tunnel would be $103.67 million per kilometre, according to the proposal sent in by China Communication in February, which was verified by three independent consultants, according to the Bridges Division.

Canada's Ottawa Tunnel cost $143.50 million per kilometre, Japan's Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line $361 million and China's Yantai-Dalian Tunnel $146 million.