Assam Plans ₹18,662 Crore Tunnel Under Brahmaputra for Road and Rail Connectivity

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently approved the construction of a twin-tube tunnel under the Brahmaputra River in Assam, featuring railway infrastructure in one of the tubes, at a total capital cost of ₹18,662 crore.

The 33.7-km greenfield project will provide four-lane, access-controlled connectivity between Gohpur (NH-15) and Numaligarh (NH-715). Of this, 15.79 km will be an underwater road-cum-rail tunnel, constructed using twin-tube Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) technology, with two lanes in each tube and one tube also accommodating railway infrastructure. The project also includes 1.26 km of road cut-and-cover and 4 km of rail cut-and-cover sections.

The project will be executed under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model, with a civil cost of ₹11,982.36 crore and land acquisition estimated at ₹716.65 crore.

Currently, the 240 km journey between Numaligarh and Gohpur via the Kaliabhomora bridge near Silghat takes about six hours. The new tunnel will significantly reduce travel distance and time, offering a direct crossing beneath the Brahmaputra.

The corridor will integrate road and rail networks, connecting NH-15 and NH-715 with the Rangia–Mukongselek railway section on the Gohpur side and the Furkating–Mariani loop line on the Numaligarh side. The route will link 11 economic nodes, three social nodes, two tourist sites, and eight logistics nodes. It will also connect four major railway stations, Donyi Polo Airport (Itanagar), Tezpur Airport, and two inland waterway terminals at Biswanath Ghat and Tezpur.

The government estimates the project will generate around 80 lakh person-days of direct and indirect employment, with projected annual average daily traffic of 4,680 passenger car units in 2024–25.