Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to perform the “bhoomi poojan” ceremony for two significant underground twin tunnel projects in Mumbai during his visit to the city on Saturday.
These tunnels will run beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and will follow a similar alignment. One of these projects, the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) tunnel, is a major undertaking by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), costing approximately $800 million. The other project, the Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel, is being executed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at a cost of about $2.5 billion.
The GMLR project features twin tunnels, each 4.7 km in length, as part of the overall 12.2 km route. As the tunnels pass beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Aarey Forest, their depth will vary from 20 meters to 220 meters, influenced by local topography and geological conditions. These tunnels will be constructed using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and will be equipped with advanced ventilation, lighting systems, and electric surveillance. The final diameter of these tunnels will be between 13 and 15 meters, making them the largest cylindrical tunnels in India. The GMLR tunnel will connect Film City in the Aarey Forest with Khindi Pada in Bhandup. The project was awarded to NCC Limited and J Kumar Infra in July last year, with a target completion date of 2028.
The Thane-Borivali twin tunnels will span 11.8 km, also running beneath the SGNP, and will connect Borivali in the western suburbs with Thane in the east, reducing the current 23 km distance to just 11 km. This project is divided into two packages: the first costing around $940 million and the second approximately $770 million. Each tunnel will feature two vehicular carriageways with a diameter of 12.2 meters. The entire project has been awarded to Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) and is expected to be completed within four years.
