Rite Of Passage

With a spate of infrastructure projects underway in India, tunnelling work is in high demand, and constantly evolving.

- Mitalee Kurdekar

The tunnelling industry is not new to India, with some of the best tunnels having been construct-ed during the pre-independence period using the traditional drill and blast technique, and still going strong. However, the fact remains that there was an abundance of time and workforce available at a low-cost during that period, making such masterpieces possible. This is not the case today. Tunnelling has evolved a great deal over this time, and today, with the latest technologies and Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) available, the tunnel development process in India has received a shot in the arm.

According to reports, more than 1,600 tunnels have been either completed or are under development since the past few years. Some examples of wonderful feats in this domain include the Chenani-Nashri tunnel – touted as India’s longest road tunnel – and under-water tunnels, which help to create a robust transport network.

Amit Uplenchwar, CEO, HCC E&C, acknowledges that there are abundant prospects for more such projects, saying, “With India’s strategic infrastructure development plans on their way to implementation, there is great scope for tunnelling in India, especially for developing urban infrastructure, underground rail and road networks, transportation in mountainous regions and so on.”