ICT Bids for DPR of Assam’s Tunnel Project Under Brahmaputra

Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. is the only bidder for preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the 15.6 km Gohpur – Numaligarh tunnel project in Assam.

This strategic twin-tunnel project under Brahmaputra River by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDC) will allow vehicles to bypass Kaziranga National Park and drastically cut down the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Each tunnel with a diameter of 11.5m carrying 2 lanes will be built using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) about 22 meters below Brahamaputra’s riverbed. The total length of the project (tunnels & approach roads) will be approximately 34.6 km long connecting Gohpur village on NH-52 and Numaligarh village on NH-715.

The project is estimated to cost Rs. 6500 crore. Its pre-feasibility report prepared in 2021 can be viewed here on the Environment Clearance’s website.

NHIDC had invited tenders for this consultancy contract in May 2023 with an unknown estimate and 730 day (2 year) completion deadline. ICT’s technical bid was opened on Tuesday.

Brief Scope: Consultancy Services for preparation of Detailed Project Report and for Pre- Construction activities towards Construction of 4-lane Tunnel Connectivity across River Brahmaputra between Gohpur (on NH-15) and Numaligarh (on NH-715) in the State of Assam.

The project’s site is located just south of Itanagar (view on Google Maps) and will reduce the distance from ~220 km to ~35 km and travel time of ~6 hours to ~30 minutes (depending on final speed restrictions imposed).

Whether NHIDC is satisfied or not with receiving just 1 bid remains to be seen. If they aren’t, then this will head to a retender. If they are, then ICT’s technical bid will be evaluated for the next steps in the tendering process.

ICT had earlier this year bid for the 2nd Zoji La Tunnel’s DPR Consultant contract. Back in 2021, they had prepared a DPR for the 213.8 km Tharad – Ahmedabad Expressway project where civil construction bidding has been underway for a painfully long time.

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– TMRG