L&T arm wins contract worth up to Rs. 5,000 cr from Rail Vikas Nigam.

The construction arm of L&T has secured a large order for its Heavy Civil Infrastructure business from Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) for package-4 of the New Broad-Gauge Line between Rishikesh and Karanprayag in Uttarakhand.

In value terms, a large order is classified as order size between Rs. 2,500-5,000 crore.

The scope of the project includes construction of tunnels, formation, construction shaft, and other ancillary works between Rishikesh and Karanprayag.

The project involves the construction of a 14.577-Km upline and a 13.123-Km downline tunnel with embankments of approximately 800 meters at both ends.

Of the 14.577-Km and 13.123-Km of tunnel work, 10.49 Km and 10.317 Km of tunnels will be excavated using two new hard rock Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) of diameter 9.1 meters and the balance using New Austrian Tunnel Method (NATM).

The scope also includes construction of an ellipsoidal-cum-ventilation shaft in the finished cross section of 79 square meters and depth of 32 meters. This will be the biggest TBM to be deployed in the Himalayan region in India and the TBM bored tunnel length of 20.807 Km will be the longest for any project in the Himalayan region. The entire project is to be completed within a stringent timeline of 60 months.

“Establishing a rail link between Rishikesh and Karanprayag will not only facilitate easy access to Uttarakhand’s pilgrimage sites, but also enable development of backward areas, connect new trade centres, and serve the resident population. The railway line traverses rugged Himalayan terrains, with the alignment oriented across and sometimes sub parallel to major thrust zones in the Himalayas with complex geological conditions,” company release quoted S.V. Desai, whole time director & senior executive vice president (civil infrastructure).

L&T is already constructing package-2 of this prestigious project involving 24 Kms of Tunnelling by the NATM, minor bridges and formation works.

HBL