New Delhi, Feb 14,2026: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the construction of a four-lane access-controlled greenfield corridor from Gohpur on NH-15 to Numaligarh on NH-715 in Assam, including a 15.79-km road-cum-rail tunnel under the Brahmaputra river, at a total capital cost of Rs18,662 crore.
Announcing the decision taken at Friday’s Cabinet meeting, union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said the project will be executed on the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode and completed as a strategic infrastructure initiative for the Northeast.
“This project will significantly enhance connectivity in Assam and across the North-Eastern region. It will improve freight efficiency, reduce logistics costs and drive socio-economic growth,” Vaishnaw told reporters on Saturday.
The 33.7-km project includes a twin-tube tunnel to be built using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) technology beneath the Brahmaputra river, with one tube designed to accommodate railway infrastructure in addition to a two-lane roadway in each direction. Officials described it as India’s first underwater road-cum-rail tunnel and only the second such integrated tunnel in the world.
At present, connectivity between Numaligarh and Gohpur requires a 240-km journey via the Kaliabhomora bridge near Silghat on NH-52, passing through areas including Kaziranga and Biswanath Town, taking nearly six hours. The new alignment is expected to drastically reduce travel time and congestion.
The tunnel will include 15.79 km of underwater stretch, 1.26 km of road cut-and-cover section, and 4 km of rail cut-and-cover segment.
The corridor will integrate with two major national highways — NH-15 and NH-715 — and connect with two key railway lines: the Rangia–Murkongselek section under the Rangia Division of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on the Gohpur side, and the Furkating–Mariani loop line under the Tinsukia Division of NFR on the Numaligarh side.
The project will link 11 economic nodes, three social nodes and two tourist destinations, including the Kaziranga National Park and the Deopahar Archaeological Site. It will also enhance connectivity to major cities and towns such as Numaligarh, Tezpur, Gohpur, Dibrugarh and Itanagar.
In addition, the alignment will provide access to two airports- Donyi Polo Airport in Itanagar and Tezpur Airport- four railway stations, and two inland waterway terminals at Biswanath Ghat and Tezpur.
According to the Minister, the project would play a pivotal role in strengthening connectivity between major economic centres in Assam and neighbouring state,s including Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, while opening new avenues for trade and industrial development.
The enhanced infrastructure is expected to facilitate smoother movement of key commodities and passengers across the region. Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) in FY25 is estimated at 4,680 Passenger Car Units.
The project would generate approximately 80 lakh person-days of direct and indirect employment during its execution.
With a total civil cost of Rs 11,982 crore and land acquisition cost of Rs 716 crore, the ambitious tunnel project is expected to transform connectivity across the Brahmaputra and reinforce the Centre’s focus on infrastructure-led growth in the Northeast.
