Ambuja has supplied 3.17 lakh tonnes of cement for the prestigious Chenani-Nashri tunnel and will provide consultation to ITNL for the upcoming Display Museum near the tunnel. Ambuja Cement, a leading cement manufacturer, has once again reinforced its strong commitment towards nation building by playing a vital role in the construction of the prestigious Chenani-Nashri road tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The world-class infrastructure project is India’s longest (9.2 km long) road passageway with state-of-the-art urban transport facilities. Ambuja Cement’s Ropar unit supplied 3.17 lakh tonnes of high quality cement for this milestone project, developed by executing agency IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL).
Ambuja Cement’s Technical Services teams provided complete technical support for this venture, demonstrating its strong manufacturing prowess combined with swift technical assistance. Commenting on the occasion, Managing Director and CEO, Ajay Kapur, said, "It is a proud moment for all of us at Ambuja Cement to be a key partner of the world-class Chenani-Nashri tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir, thus contributing to India’s growth story. Our participation in this ambitious venture goes a long way in reiterating our nation’s building vision. We are happy to be part of this landmark infrastructure and are confident that this all-weather road project will bring relief to thousands of commuters in the northern state." The new tunnel stretches from Chenani (Udhampur district) to Nashri (Ramban district) town. The tunnel project reduces the 41 km route through steep and hilly terrain to a highway of less than 10 km.
This project is part of the development of the new alignment section of NH 1-A which includes the 9.2-km single tube bi-directional tunnel with a parallel intermediate lane escape tunnel of 29 cross passages. The tunnel will enable sustainable transport through fuel savings of Rs 27 lakh per day by cutting down commute time. It will make road travel safer and reduce traffic disturbances caused by unpredictable landslides, sharp turns, vehicle breakdowns and accidents. The new tunnel is secured with a robust security and a three-tier power back-up system. ITNL also plans to install a Display Museum near the tunnel entrance and has solicited Ambuja Cement to extend its technical prowess for the extended project. Ambuja’s Technical Services team is currently consulting ITNL to charting out a roadmap for developing this unique museum.
Ambuja Cements Ltd, a part of a global conglomerate LafargeHolcim, is one of India’s leading cement manufacturers with over 25 years of operations. The company has five integrated cement manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units across the country. It is the first-ever Indian cement manufacturer to build a captive port with three terminals along the country’s western coastline to facilitate timely, cost effective and environmentally cleaner shipments of bulk cement to its customers. It has its own fleet of ships.The Dynamics of Asia’s Longest Bi-directional Tunnel
An ideal example of the government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ initiative, the 9-km long, twin-tube, all-weather tunnel between Udhampur and Ramban in Jammu & Kashmir is not only India’s longest highways tunnel but also Asia’s longest bi-directional highways tunnel. Built at an elevation of 1,200 metres on one of the most difficult Himalayan terrains, the tunnel will cut the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar by two hours, bypassing about 41 km of road length. It will also ensure an all-weather passage on a route that often sees heavy traffic jams and disruptions due to landslides, snow, sharp curves, breakdown of vehicles and accidents.
The tunnel is part of the 286-km-long four-laning of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The structure consists of a 9-km long, two-laned main tunnel with a parallel escape tunnel of the same length. The two tunnels are connected by 29 cross-passages at regular intervals along the entire length of the tunnel. These cross-passages can be used for evacuation of vehicles and commuters in case of breakdown or any other emergency. There are two minor bridges on the south and north sides and 4-lane approach roads with toll plazas on both ends of the tunnel.
The maximum height permitted in the tunnel is 5 meters and for checking the height of vehicles, special sensors have been installed just before the toll points at both ends. The tunnel has an efficient, transverse ventilation system. There are inlets bringing fresh air at 8-metre intervals and outlets for exhaust at every 100 metres. There is also a fully-integrated control system with ventilation, communication, power supply, incident detection, SOS call box and fire fighting. Fitted with intelligent traffic mechanism, the tunnel has fully automatic smart control and no human intervention will be required for its operations. The tunnel is also equipped with advanced scanners to ward off any security threat. Very few tunnels in the world have this kind of fully integrated tunnel control.