TBM completes Mumbai Water Tunnel bore

Robbins provided both the 6.25m diameter TBM and conveyor system for the project, as well as Field Service personnel to monitor the equipment and assist with daily upkeep and inspection, the company stated.

Joint venture contractor Unity-IVRCL (UIJV) was pleased with the hard rock machine and the support provided by Robbins during the project, Robbins stated.

Pravin Titare, Unity, said: "The TBM was good in hard rock, and we reached high rates of 870m per month and 58m per day, both records for TBM tunnelling in India. We were able to achieve this due to the good performance of the machine and a conveyor system for muck haulage in place of conventional methods.

"The Robbins crew helped us commission and start boring on schedule, and the Robbins TBM operators did a great and skilful job maintaining tunnel alignment. Because of this, UIJV received a good reputation towards our client Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM)."

Now completed, the water transfer tunnel will provide Mumbai's approximately 20.5 million residents with a consistent flow of clean drinking water, even during the seasonal monsoons that formerly contaminated the city's water resources.