A six-kilometre-long tunnel will be built between Bundi and Garbiyang on the Ghatiabagar-Lipulekh road in Uttarakhand to improve access to the Lipulekh Pass on the India-China border, according to a senior Border Roads Organisation (BRO) official.
ATINOK India Consultants received the contract for the tunnel survey and has begun working on it. The final proposal will be submitted within a year, according to Project Hirak’s Chief Engineer Vimal Goswami.
The project worth Rs 2,000 crore is expected to start in four to five years.
Goswami stated that the BRO has maintained the Bundi to Garbiyang border road as a single lane due to the proposed tunnel, while the remaining portion will become a double lane.
BRO is currently double-laning and black-topping the border road, as confirmed by an official who stated it was commissioned last year. Double-laning work is almost finished, he added.
Only the formation-cutting work on the final 5 km of the road from the KMVN huts to the Lipulekh pass is awaiting approval. According to the official, it may be completed in 100 days if the Central Command HQ grants approval.