NHIDCL gets Rs 30,000-crore tunnelling projects in J&K

The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), which has emerged as the biggest road construction player in the country with a portfolio of over Rs 90,000 crore, has now taken up at least seven specialised tunnel projects in Jammu and Kashmir. 

These projects, costing over Rs 30,000 crore, were handed over to NHIDCL — a public sector company under the ministry of road transport and highways — by the prime minister’s office (PMO) in a recent review meeting. Two of the projects were earlier with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which failed to submit a detailed project report (DPR). 

Tunnels are mainly constructed to make roads motorable throughout the year, and to reduce distance and time between two points. Conditions for executing these projects are expected to be challenging in terms of weather: extremely low temperatures, avalanches, low oxygen, wind, etc.

About Rs 450 crore a kilometre of expenditure is incurred on the construction of a tunnel project, a government official told Business Standard.

Total length of projects sanctioned till March 31 in J&K was 189.58 km, while the length to be sanctioned during the current financial year is 74.31 km.

NHIDCL has planned to award 1,276 km of road and tunnel projects in J&K, as all-weather connectivity to the Ladakh region is long awaited. Construction of the Zojila tunnel along with the Z-morh tunnel will facilitate all-weather connectivity to Leh. Construction for the Z-morh tunnel has already begun and as far as the Zojila tunnel project is concerned, four bids have been received and the project is likely to start in August.

Reliance Infrastructure in partnership with Dogus Construction of Turkey, Larsen and Toubro (L&T), IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company, and Jaiprakash Power Ventures have submitted bids for the Rs 10,000-crore Zojila tunnel project that would provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Leh-Ladakh, currently cut off for almost half the year due to snow. The other projects include the 8-km-long Pir-Ki-Gali tunnel, to be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 4,185 crore, and 8.5-km-long Vailoo tunnel (Sinthan Pass), which is expected to cost around Rs 3,500 crore. Consultancy services for the preparation of a DPR for the 4.5-km-long Daranga tunnel project have been invited. 

In April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenani-Nashri tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. It is India’s longest road tunnel and will cut short the 41-km Chenani-Nashri road distance to 10.9 km. 

Besides, NHIDCL has planned to award construction work for Machi Bridge on the India-Nepal border, and 351-km-long Aizawl-Tuipang road with Rs 4,000 crore financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The proposed route would facilitate connectivity to Myanmar.

Another such road connectivity between Imphal-Moreh in Manipur, with Asian Development Bank's assistance, would also provide connectivity to Myanmar.