Dibrugarh: Golaghat district commissioner Biswajit Pukan on Monday inspected the proposed site of the Gohpur–Numaligarh underwater road-cum-rail tunnel beneath the Brahmaputra.The tunnel will connect Gohpur on the river’s north bank with Numaligarh on the south bank, reducing travel distance and time. During the inspection, Pukan held discussions with the revenue circle officer and officials of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) on preparatory work, pre-construction reviews and technical aspects.The inspection came as NHIDCL moved ahead with the project after floating a major construction tender. According to NHIDCL’s tender records, bids were invited on Aug 31, 2026, for a four-lane, twin-tube underwater road tunnel, including approach roads and railway infrastructure in one tube. The revised bid submission deadline is Nov 2, 2026, and technical bids are scheduled to open on Nov 3.Union Cabinet approved the project in Feb 2026 at an estimated capital cost of Rs 18,662 crore. The 33.7-km corridor will include a 15.79-km underwater tunnel to be built using tunnel-boring machines. The project will be executed in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.Planned as India’s first underwater road-cum-rail tunnel and the second of its kind in the world, the project will have two tubes, each carrying two road lanes. Railway infrastructure will be incorporated into one tube.The proposed corridor is expected to reduce the road journey between Gohpur and Numaligarh from about 240 km and six hours to approximately 34 km and 20 minutes. It will integrate National Highways 15 and 715 with railway sections on both sides of the river. The govt estimates the project could generate around 80 lakh person-days of direct and indirect employment.
