The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a 4-lane access-controlled greenfield corridor from Gohpur (NH-15) to Numaligarh (NH-715) in Assam. The project includes a 15.79-km road-cum-rail tunnel beneath the Brahmaputra River, marking India’s first underwater tunnel of its kind and the second globally. The corridor will drastically reduce travel distance from the current 240 km route to just 34 km, significantly cutting travel time.
The tunnel will be developed at a total cost of Rs 18,662 crore under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode. It will integrate two major National Highways and connect with key railway sections under the Northeast Frontier Railway, including the Rangia–Murkongselek section on the Gohpur side and the Furkating–Mariani loop line on the Numaligarh side.
Designed as a multi-modal infrastructure project, the corridor will link 11 economic nodes, 3 social nodes, 2 tourist nodes, and 8 logistics nodes. It will also improve access to four major railway stations, two airports, and two inland waterways, facilitating faster movement of goods and passengers while enhancing freight efficiency and reducing logistics costs.
The project is expected to generate around 80 lakh person-days of direct and indirect employment and will accelerate socio-economic growth across Assam and the Northeast, strengthening connectivity between major economic centres and opening new avenues for trade, industrial development, and regional integration.
