Azerbaijan, Baku, May 10 / Trend, E. Ismayilov /
The construction of an extension of the tunnel along Baku Boulevard, which will connect the two sides of the Baku Bay, is not a risky venture, head of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture Abbas Alasgarov told the media today.
The tunnel will be 4.2 km long after the extension is complete.
According to blue prints, the tunnel extension is 0.9 km long and will be U shaped.
The tunnel will have six-lanes (three on one side, three on the other).
Work will be carried out on shore in an area of 0.7 square km, giving the project an area of six million cubic meters and on shore work of of 3.7 km.
According to the project, the tunnel will be situated at depths ranging from 1.8 to 5.5 metres. The tunnel will have two exits on Neftchilar Avenue and will start at the Bayil settlement and finish at Zikh.
The construction of a bridge over the Baku Bay is also being considered.
"The construction of the bridge over the Baku Bay is an expensive project," he said.
"Why is a bridge needed, if one can just pave a road? Bridge construction is very expensive," he said.
The protocol on preparing the technical and economic means of the construction of the bridge was signed by the ministry and the Korean Agency for International Cooperation at the end of 2009. By preliminary estimates, the cost of the construction of the bridge is about $2.5 billion.
The government of the Korean Republic allocated $1.6 million to the KOICA project in 2009-2011.
The extension of the main part of bridge which will stretch over the Caspian Sea from Shikhov to Zikh will be 13.5-15 km. With communications, the length of the bridge which will be joined to the Baku highway will reach 26 km. This way, the bridge will become the second longest in the world after one in China. The construction of the bridge should be complete within five years.