Bangladeshi students making tunnel boring machine with Elon Musk's company | Bangladesh’s Bored Tunnelers making tunnel boring machine with Elon Musk's company | The Daily Star

Oct 17, 2024

After becoming the first-ever Asian team to reach the top three in Elon Musk's "Not-a-Boring Competition" and winning the coveted "Rookie Award", team Bored Tunnelers from Bangladesh has now been invited to Elon Musk's The Boring Company headquarters in Texas to trial their micro tunnel boring machine (MTBM). The invitation came through the annual competition, where teams are challenged to bore a 30-metre tunnel in eight days.

Tunnel boring technology, especially MTBM, is vital for developing countries like Bangladesh. Projects like Dhaka's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-5 by the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), which includes underground sections, rely on tunnel boring machine technology to reduce air and sound pollution, and is more environmentally sustainable, as highlighted in the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Again, traditional tunnel digging by authorities like the Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) often causes surface disruptions, traffic congestion, and drainage damage.

Micro tunnelling technology avoids these issues by eliminating open-surface excavation as MTBM technology operates entirely underground, boring tunnels of 30-40 metres without disturbing the surface. Bored Tunnelers aims to revolutionise this process with automated systems that enhance safety, speed, and cost-effectiveness, with potential applications in underground cables, subways, and other infrastructure projects.

Bored Tunnelers started back in 2023, founded by Shaekh Mohammed Shithil, Shahriar Iqbal Mahim, and Fahin Uddin Enam. It has since grown into a cross-institutional team of students from universities like Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET); Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (RUET); Dhaka University (DU); Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST); BRAC University (BRACU); North South University (NSU); Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB); United International University (UIU); University Technology Malaysia (UTM), and so on.

Currently led by Md Jawadur Rahman, with co-leads Nafis Ashraf and Md Sakib Islam Fahim, the team is building a more advanced MTBM this year. The technical teams have already made advancements in soil extraction technologies, supported by test engineer Dan Wagner from The Boring Company, while civil, geotech, and software teams are designing tunnels and custom software with input from Cole Kenny, also from The Boring Company.

Last year, Bored Tunnelers faced significant financial challenges, lacking funds for timely manufacturing and transportation. Unable to afford sea or air freight for their 500 kg industrial-grade MTBM, they painstakingly packed it into 37 cartons for shipping. Their determination caught the attention of The Boring Company engineers, who were impressed by their grit and dedication.

Meanwhile, this year's invitation comes during a transformative period for Bangladesh, following the fall of the Hasina regime which was driven by a united student movement. With Nahid Islam, the pioneering student leader and Advisor for Information and Broadcasting of Bangladesh, opening doors for technological and industrial support, the tunnel boring sector is one which is ready for change and for the better. Thus, Bored Tunnelers hopes to gain the advisor and ministry's backing for the resources needed for success this year.

The team's vision is clear – they want to move towards building mega tunnel boring machines that will reduce Bangladesh's reliance on foreign engineers for massive infrastructure projects. With that goal in mind, the team is expected to fly to Texas in March 2025 to test their rig and, once again, represent not just Bangladesh, but all of Asia, in one of the world's most innovative engineering competitions.

Fatima Ashraf is a Campus Ambassador for The Daily Star from Military Institute of Science & Technology (MIST).