Mumbai-based Ace Pipeline Group completes tunnelling across river

The break-through of the micro-tunnel boring machine was achieved in the early morning hours of 2 July 2023. This marks the end of micro tunnelling in the project, with Ace Energy now having completed construction of a tunnel of diameter 1600 mm across a total length of 1200 m at a depth of 11 - 12 m under the river bed, with strata consisting of extremely hard and abrasive boulders and a river flowing up to its brim for the past three months owing to the flooding in its upper reaches in Bhutan.

The construction crews are expected to install the 24 in. carbon steel pipeline to transport natural gas within this tunnel in the next few weeks. Once this is done, it will serve as a final link to complete a 1600 km network of gas pipelines from Barauni in central India to Guwahati in north-east India, and further from Guwahati right up to Numaligarh crossing major rivers such as Subhansiri and Brhamapura as part of extension of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Urja Ganga Project which will bring natural gas connectivity from Guwahati to Numaligarh and all towns and cities of the north-east. Ranchi-based MECON Limited spearheaded the engineering efforts for the project having been appointed as Project Management Consultant to GAIL.

Speaking about this achievement, Mr. K.B. Singh, Executive Director (Eastern Region), GAIL (India) Ltd., commented, "The break-through of a tunnel boring machine is a culmination of months of back-breaking hard work, with front line crew working 24 x 7 in rain and hail, and the efforts of project managers, designers, and countless other faces behind the scenes who ensured that the front-end crew would succeed.”

Speaking about this achievement, Mr. Ravneet Singh, Director, Ace Energy Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., commented, “This milestone is a remarkable achievement for all of us and we hope this is a forerunner for many more breakthroughs in India and also across the globe.”

 

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