The Centre on Friday approved the construction of a strategic 33.7km road-cum-rail tunnel under the Brahmaputra, a project expected to drastically cut travel time and ensure rapid movement of troops and goods from mainland Assam to Arunachal Pradesh, which shares a sensitive frontier with China.
Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s whirlwind visit to poll-bound Assam on Saturday, the cabinet committee on economic affairs, chaired by Modi, cleared the mega four-lane greenfield connectivity project from Gohpur on NH15 to Numaligarh on NH715. The project includes a 15.79km combined road-and-rail tunnel beneath the Brahmaputra, to be constructed at a cost of ₹18,662 crore under the engineering procurement construction (EPC) mode.
EPC contracts allow quicker execution with reduced cost overruns and shift construction risks to contractors, ensuring faster project delivery.
An official statement issued on Saturday said the project “will play a pivotal role in strategic considerations, regional economic growth, strengthening connectivity between major economic centres and opening new avenues for trade and industrial development” across the surrounding region. It is also expected to generate approximately 80 lakh person-days of direct and indirect employment.
The tunnel, catering to both rail and road traffic, will slash travel time between Gohpur in Biswanath district and Numaligarh in Golaghat district — currently a 220km, six-hour journey — to just 30 minutes.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma highlighted the approval during a BJP rally addressed by Modi in Guwahati. “A tunnel beneath the Brahmaputra once felt unimaginable for Assam. Today, it stands approved,” Sarma posted on X, lauding the Prime Minister for “gifting Assam infrastructure that generations will remember.”
Sarma also announced that in its next term, the BJP-led government would provide two lakh government jobs, free five lakh bighas from encroachment and create 10 lakh self-employment opportunities. The BJP has governed Assam since 2016.
Modi drop in
Modi’s fourth visit to election-bound Assam since September focused on inaugurating a slate of connectivity and development projects. The most striking moment was his “historic” landing at the emergency landing facility (ELF) on the Moran bypass — the first such runway on a state highway in the Northeast.
“It is a matter of immense pride that the Northeast gets an emergency landing facility. From a strategic point of view and during natural disasters, this facility is of great importance,” Modi said.
From Moran, Modi flew to Guwahati and inaugurated the ₹3,000-crore six-lane Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu, a major bridge over the Brahmaputra connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati, reducing travel time from 40 minutes to seven minutes. He also inaugurated the national data centre and the IIM Guwahati transit campus, flagged off 100 electric buses, and addressed a workers’ convention, urging BJP cadres to work tirelessly until a fourth straight mandate is secured.
Modi, in his 49-minute speech, again targeted the Congress for “neglecting” Assam and the Northeast and for “votebank politics” by “backing infiltrators,” while paying tribute to the martyrs of the 2019 Pulwama attack.
