IL&FS TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS LTD COMMENCES WORK ON THE COUNTRY’S LONGEST ROAD TUNNEL

·  Contract awarded by NHAI- Chenani to Nashri on NH 1A highway

·         Alternative route- will bypass existing 41km and provide a 10 km option

·         One of the longest in Asia- 9k.m. tunnel by IL&FS Transportation Networks

·         Cultural connect- will reduce the travel time between Capitals by almost 2 hours

·         All weather route- neither deposition of snow nor closing down in extreme weather conditions

·         Advantage to commuters- a solution to weather-related problems, traffic jam & safety issues

·         Construction time- expected to be completed in 5 years time

·         Funded by- a consortium of banks lead by the SBI & ITNL is the sole equity provider

Jammu, 25^th July’11: The foundation stone for the country’s longest tunnel was today laid by Dr. C.P. Joshi, Hon’ble Union Minister, Road Transport & Highways in Chenani, Distt. Udhampur (J&K). The event was presided by Jenab Omar Abdullah, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir and Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Hon’ble Union Minister, New and Renewable Energy, Jenab Ghulam Nabi Azad, Hon’ble Union Minister, Health & Family Welfare, Sh. Jitin Prasada, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Dr. Tushar A. Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Sh. Tara Chand, Hon’ble Dy. Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir were the key dignitaries. Ch. Lal Singh, Hon’ble M.P. (Lok Sabha) was the Guest of Honour.

IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd. is developing the Chenani-Nashri Tunnel Project. This 9 kms tunnel will be India’s longest tunnel and amongst the longest in Asia. The project involves construction of approximately 9km of 2-lane (13.3m dia) main tunnel along with parallel escape tunnel (5m dia) in the lower Himalayan mountain range. The tunnel will bypass an existing section of NH 1A highway and provide a 10 km alternative route for 41km of the existing NH1A which passes through steep mountainous terrain and has significant geometrical, weather and safety issues. Till now extreme weather conditions often lead to the closing down of the existing national highway, especially during the rainy and winter seasons. Once complete, the tunnel will provide an all weather route that will reduce the travel time by almost 2 hours. The tunnel is expected to be completed in 5 years time. Other salient features of the route will be that it will obliterate the weather-related problem such as deposition of snow, which has been leading to long delays and obstructions on the route. The project is funded by a consortium of banks lead by the State Bank of India and ITNL is the sole equity provider

Mr. K. Ramchand, Managing Director, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd. said “We are extremely proud to be associated with one of the country’s most prestigious infrastructure projects. This would be yet another milestone for us and, once completed, would reiterate our project management and execution skills. We’ve deployed M/s Leighton India for the construction works and they are using the state of the art technology in the construction of this esteemed project. It will be a veritable boon to commuters once complete and would shorten the distances between the two capitals in the State of J&K"

About IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd.:

In November 2000, IL&FS incorporated IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited (ITNL). ITNL is today the largest private sector BoT road asset operating company in India. ITNL also has interests in Metro Rail, Bus Transportation and Border Entry Point Projects. The focus of ITNL is to maintain its market position in the Surface Transportation business. ITNL has been involved in the development and implementation of projects related to Highways, Flyovers, Bridges and Roads across the country. It has a pan India presence with projects in 14 states within India. With a portfolio of 20 road projects, one metro project, one bus transportation project and one border entry point project, ITNL has expanded its operations into most spheres of surface transportation infrastructure development business