India approves first underwater road-rail tunnel project worth Rs 18,662 crore in Assam
Currently, the 240-km stretch between Numaligarh on National Highway 715 and Gohpur on NH-15 runs via Kaliabhambhora near Silghat along NH-52, taking nearly six hours.
PTC News Desk: India has cleared a Rs 18,662-crore project to construct a four-lane, access-controlled greenfield corridor between Gohpur and Numaligarh, which will include the country’s first combined road-and-rail tunnel beneath the Brahmaputra river in Assam.
Currently, the 240-km stretch between Numaligarh on National Highway 715 and Gohpur on NH-15 runs via Kaliabhambhora near Silghat along NH-52, taking nearly six hours. The existing route passes through areas such as Numaligarh, Kaziranga National Park and Biswanath town.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the project on Saturday. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the corridor will be developed under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.
The proposed structure will be India’s first underwater road-and-rail tunnel and only the second of its kind globally. The corridor is expected to significantly benefit Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and other northeastern states by improving freight efficiency, lowering logistics costs and boosting regional socio-economic development. It will also strengthen multi-modal connectivity by linking 11 economic nodes, three social nodes, two tourist hubs and eight logistics centres, along with providing improved access to four major railway stations, two airports and two inland waterways.
Once operational, the project is expected to play a crucial strategic role, enhance connectivity between key economic centres and create new opportunities for trade and industrial expansion in the region.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out a landmark landing at the Northeast’s first emergency landing field (ELF) aboard a C-130J aircraft. He took off from Chabua airfield and landed at the ELF in Moran. The facility, located along the Dibrugarh–Moran stretch of a national highway in Assam, holds strategic importance, particularly in the context of China, as it can accommodate frontline fighter jets and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force during emergencies.