Talking at an international webinar called 'Road Tunnel Recent Trends, Innovations and Way Forward', Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said in India, currently the aggregate length of operational tunnels is 31 kilometres and under implementation is 106 kilometers. In addition currently total 135 kilometre long tunnel plans are in their DPR (Detailed Project Report) phase expected to be completed by year 2026.

Capital Investment Costs in India too high

He said that "Economising the cost of construction of tunnel with minimum construction period without compromising safety is need of the hour" and in India, "the capital investment for tunnels is very high". He added, "with the technological advancements, digitization changes the way gathering geological data, the method of rock classification as well as  the design and analysis required for tunnelling, the tunnel contraction process and tunnel maintenance also benefited digital transformation. The successful application of machine learning incorporated in tunnelling technique, especially in Europe. This modern concept must be adopted for tunnel construction in India.

Plans to motivate the Tunnel Boring Machine production in India?

The minister said, his ministry visualizes employment of advanced technologies, high quality controls in the construction of the tunnels. He said the most important thing is the capital costs. He said, "without comprimising the safety, we need to reduce the capital cost by using successful practices already available in the world. We have to reduce the cost of the machinery also.

The minister has emphasized the importance of reducing the cost of tunnel construction several times. The tunnel construction has dominated his talk and in turn, reducing the tunnel construction cost has dominated his tunnel talk.

He said, India needs to "invest in research and development particularly in plant and machinery. The machinery already produced all over the world. If we can increase the number of machinery which we are manufacturing, we can reduce the cost. The more machines, the more contractors and lower costs.

The minister has also mentioned the importance of the immersed tunnels for India. He said, at many places, costs can be saved by  using immersed tunnel technology instead of building bridges.