Delhi tunnel, UP highway get Cabinet nod in Rs 14,115-crore infrastructure push

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 1, 2026 18:39 IST

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved major road infrastructure projects worth Rs 14,115 crore for Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, including a key tunnel project aimed at easing traffic congestion in the national capital.

Briefing the media, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Cabinet cleared the construction of an 8.1-km, 6-lane road tunnel on NH-148AE, which will connect Dwarka Expressway with Nelson Mandela Marg in Vasant Kunj.

The tunnel project, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 6,969.67 crore, will be executed under the hybrid annuity mode (HAM) and is expected to be completed in five years.

According to officials, the project will significantly improve connectivity between West and South Delhi by linking UER-II/Dwarka Expressway to Vasant Kunj, easing traffic flow from Gurugram, Dwarka, IGI Airport and West Delhi towards South Delhi.

A 1.98-km stretch of the tunnel will pass beneath the Southern Ridge Forest. Officials said the underground twin-tube design has been planned to minimise surface disruption and preserve the ridge ecology.

ELEVATED CORRIDOR IN DELHI

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also proposed an elevated corridor between AIIMS and Mahipalpur, which will connect the tunnel to the Barapullah elevated corridor. This is expected to further improve connectivity between West, South, East Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida.

The tunnel will be constructed using a tunnel boring machine (TBM), beginning at the Shivmurti interchange and terminating near the junction of Nelson Mandela Marg and Mahipalpur–Chhatarpur Road.

To ease congestion at key junctions, the project also includes an elevated 1.8-km stretch along Nelson Mandela Marg, a proposed flyover from Chhatarpur towards Mahipalpur, and an elevated U-turn to facilitate right-turning traffic towards Chhatarpur.

The total project length, including supporting infrastructure, is 8.1 km, with a main carriageway of 6.3 km.

Officials said the project is also expected to generate significant employment, with an estimated 7.54 lakh person-days of direct employment and 9.80 lakh person-days of indirect employment.

BIG INFRA PUSH IN BUNDELKHAND

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also approved the construction of the 117.7-km, 4/6-lane access-controlled Kanpur–Kabrai section of National Highway 34 in Uttar Pradesh.

The project, estimated at Rs 7,145.14 crore, is aimed at improving regional connectivity and freight movement in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, linking Kanpur to Bhopal via key districts in the central belt.

Vaishnaw said the approved stretch spans 242 km from Kanpur to Kabrai and forms part of a larger arterial corridor. According to him, the alignment extends from Kanpur through Hamirpur to Kabrai and Mahoba, and further connects towards Bhopal, thereby facilitating smoother regional traffic movement.

He noted that the route would serve the natural traffic flow from Kanpur towards Bhopal and would function as an access-controlled highway, similar in design to an expressway. He said the project is expected to be completed in 2.5 years and will directly benefit three districts: Kanpur, Hamirpur and Mahoba.

The minister further stated that the project will be implemented under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) toll model.

He added that it will comprise two components—greenfield and brownfield development—with the first section involving a greenfield, four-lane access-controlled highway designed with structures capable of supporting six lanes.

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