ITANAGAR: Defence minister Rajnath Ringh, on Tuesday (September 12), inaugurated as many as 90 infrastructure projects across India, including the strategically important Nechipu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh.
These 90 projects were constructed by the Border Road Organization (BRO) at a total cost of Rs 2941 crore and spans across 10 border states and union territories in North and Northeast regions of India.
Among the total 90 projects, 11 are in Jammu and Kashmir, 26 in Ladakh, 36 in Arunachal Pradesh, 5 in Mizoram, 3 in Himachal Pradesh, 2 each in Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, and 1 each in Nagaland, Rajasthan, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The vital Nechipu Tunnel is located near the Nechipu Pass along the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
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Meanwhile, construction works of the strategic Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh is also nearing completion.
The Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh is likely to be ready for inauguration by the end of September this year, reports said.
Construction of the Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh is also carried out by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
After inauguration, the Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh will enable faster deployment of weapons and soldiers to forward areas in Tawang sector along China border.
It may be mentioned here that both the Sela tunnel and the Nechipu tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh have been constructed as part of efforts to improve connectivity in the frontier state that shares border with China.