India plans new strategic underwater tunnel
17 July 2020India’s government has given approval ‘in principle’ for a 14.8km-long twin-tube dual-lane road tunnel that will pass under the Brahmaputra River in Assam. Construction will be in three phases and is expected to begin in December 2020.
According to the Hindustan Times, US-based professional services firm Louis Berger (now part of WSP) undertook a detailed project report in March 2020 for the country’s National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
When completed, it will be India’s first underwater tunnel and will span a river whose banks can be more than 5 miles (8km) apart during the rainy season.
Located close to the border with China, the tunnel will have huge strategic and military importance given it will provide year-round connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Existing bridges across the river are seen by the Indian military as easy targets for enemy fire.
Approval for the tunnel comes at a time of growing tension between India and China following a recent skirmish in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.
