Sir Richard Costain, head of one of the British firms in the consortium, estimated the 30-mile tunnel would cost about $280 million and take between four and five years to complete. The method, he said, was being used on a smaller scale in the United States to build a seven-mile sewerage pipe into the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles.

The tunnel between Dover and Sangatte would carry a two-track railroad. A road tunnel for cars has been ruled out by the group because of the ventilation problem. Cars and trucks, they say, can be handled more speedily and safely by running them on flat rail wagons.

A cross-section of the link between France and England would look like the business end of an enormous double-barrel shotgun, each barrel 21-1/2 feet in diameter. Encased together in three-foot-thick concrete the twin tunnels would be lowered into a trench on the seabed in 500-foot sections. Then they would be covered up to a depth of five feet by rock and sand. Two walking platforms will be used for construction work if the plan is accepted.

One platform would go ahead for dredging the trench; the second would be used for lowering sections of the tunnel. These, said Sir Richard, would be towed into position under submersible pontoons. Their ends would be closed by steel bulkheads and they would be equipped with specially designed joints by which they will lock together.

A tunnel or bridge connecting France and England has been a dream for generations. Experts estimate it could quickly attract a million cars a year, six million passengers and 500,000 tons of fast freight. — Agencies

Farm policy RAWALPINDI: A three-day high-level conference was inaugurated by Minister for Food and Agriculture Lt-Gen K.M. Shaikh here yesterday to formulate a comprehensive agricultural policy for the country. — Agencies