GUWAHATI: Guwahati: India’s first twin tube underwater rail cum road tunnel will be developed in Assam.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved its construction. The 33.7 km 4-lane corridor from Gohpur to Numaligarh, including a 15.79 km tunnel beneath the mighty Brahmaputra, will be built at a cost of Rs 18,662 crore.
Currently, connectivity between Numaligarh on National Highway 715 and Gohpur on National Highway 15 is 240 km.
This will be the first underwater road cum rail tunnel in India and the second in the world. The project will provide significant benefit to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and other states in the Northeast. It will enhance the efficiency of freight movement, reduce logistics cost and drive socio-economic growth.
“The project will provide seamless connectivity to key economic, social, and logistics nodes across Assam. Additionally, it will enhance multi-modal integration by connecting with 11 economic nodes, three social nodes, two tourist nodes and eight logistic nodes,” an official statement said.
The project will also play a pivotal role in strategic considerations. Upon completion, it will generate around 80 lakh person-days of direct and indirect employment, and open new avenues of growth, development and prosperity in surrounding regions, the statement said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called it a historic milestone for Assam.
“The project, a dream which was sowed in 2021, will reduce distance between Numaligarh and Gohpur from 240 km to 34 km, cut travel time by 95% from 6 hours to just 20 minutes and enhance freight efficiency and reduce logistics cost,” Sarma said.
He added that the tunnel would be a strategic lifeline for Assam and the entire Northeast, unlocking new avenues for trade, tourism and industrial growth.
“It will also be Assam's fourth railway crossing across the mighty Brahmaputra, with three being bridges and this one being a tunnel, to ease passenger and logistics movement,” he said.