The long wait for power connection in the offshore upazila of Sandwip in Chittagong is finally about to end, as the initiative to connect the upazila with the national power grid by installing a submarine cable ushers in new hope for the islanders.

The Power Development Board (PDB) started installing the submarine cable in the Sandwip Channel on December 17 last year from Baoriya union of Swandip. It has engaged three ships for the job.

The setting up of the cable is a part of the project titled,

"Chittagong Zone Power Distribution System Development Project", which was approved by Ecnec (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) in 2014. The cost of setting up the cable has been estimated to be Tk 147 crore.

Executive Engineer Sumonto Kumar Devnath, in-charge of the installation project, told The Daily Star that the length of the main cable would be 15 kilometers. There will be another 25 kilometers of overhead lines on both sides of the sea.

Chinese companies SSBS, CCCB and Z1T are working under a consortium to execute the project, he

added.

He said through the submarine cable, Sandwip would be connected to the national power grid while connection to the cable would be provided from Barobkunda area in Chittagong's Sitakunda upazila.

"The work will be completed by June 2018, while power distribution will begin from December," he added.

The PDB is installing two parallel submarine cables to keep the power supply uninterrupted in case of any emergency.

"Due to strong current under the Sandwip Channel, it's challenging

to install a cable 10 feet under the riverbed. A cable as long as 30 kilometers, weighing 1,450 tonnes will be used," said Sumonto.

"Apart from the strong current, there are some other obstacles to install the cable. The five-km-long muddy slope along the channel has slowed our work down," the PDB official said.

The Institute of Water Modeling, a sister concern of BIWTA, found in their feasibility test that the average depth of the channel is 50 feet.

It is worth mentioning that PDB needs to clear800 meters of mangrove forest after the authorities concerned approved the project.

Once implemented, the project would electrify at least 60 square kilometers of the island with priority given to hospitals, government offices, and important markets of the upazila.

Mahfujur Rahman Mita, MP from Sandwip constituency, told The Daily Star that the power supply through this submarine cable would bring about a radical change in the economic and social life of Sandwip. "It will also open the door for marine tourism, and create opportunities for economic zones as chars are rising from underneath the sea."