[sustran] Japan agency seeks to build Rs. 4, 800 crore tunnel in Western Ghats

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.livemint.com/2012/06/27231114/Japan-agency-seeks-to-build-Rs.html



Japan agency seeks to build Rs. 4,800 crore tunnel in Western Ghats
Under the JICA proposal, the proposed 18.5km stretch will include five
tunnels, and four overbridges
  Shamsheer Yousaf

  Bangalore: The Karnataka government is looking to solve the recurring
problem of unmotorable roads on the national highway between Bangalore and
the port city of Mangalore by constructing an 18.5 kilometre, multi-stage
tunnel through the Western Ghats at a cost of Rs. 4,800 crore.

An expert group from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has
submitted a report to the Karnataka government on the construction of a
four-lane expressway between Sakleshpur in Hassan district and Gundia in
Dakshina Kannada district along National Highway 48 connecting Bangalore
and Mangalore.

Under the JICA proposal, the proposed 18.5km stretch will include five
tunnels, and four overbridges. A 2km arch bridge will also be constructed
to provide connectivity across a valley.

The current 30km road from Sakleshpur to Mangalore climbs over the Shirdi
ghat section of the Western Ghats.

The condition of this section of the highway deteriorates every year
because of heavy rainfall—around 400 centimetre annually—and accidents are
frequent.

In 2011, the state government spent nearly Rs. 22 crore on repairing the
stretch.

The proposed expressway, to be built over six years, is expected to reduce
the commuting time from 3 hours to less than half-an-hour. The proposed
road will also improve connectivity to the New Mangalore Port.

“Currently, consignments from several parts of Karnataka prefer to go
either to Chennai or to Goa despite Mangalore port being closer,” said
Karnataka’s large and medium industries minister Murugesh Nirani. “We need
to close the gap in the connectivity infrastructure.”

JICA also submitted that the project will be financially viable if traffic
density is around 10,000 vehicles per day. According to the figures
furnished by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the traffic
density is estimated at around 8,000 vehicles daily.

Nirani added that the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) had
expressed interest in providing technical assistance to build the tunnel
with private firms in a public-private partnership.

Public works minister C.M. Udasi said the state government had already
submitted the proposal to the union ministry of road transport and highways
and is awaiting a reply.

“We had a long discussion with the Japanese delegation during the Global
Investors Meet earlier this month and some firms have expressed interest in
taking up the project,” he said.

The state government took the tunnel approach after it failed to receive
environment clearances for converting the the ghat section into a four-lane
highway.

Several projects in the Western Ghats have been held up due to lack of
environmental clearances. These include the Hubli-Ankola railway line and a
hydel power project in Gundia.

*shamsheer.y at livemint.com*