Cabinet Approves ₹14,115 Crore for Delhi Tunnel, Kanpur-Kabrai Highway

On 1 July 2026, the Union Cabinet approved two highway infrastructure projects with a combined cost of ₹14,114.81 crore. The projects include an 8.1-km six-lane road tunnel in Delhi and a 117.7-km access-controlled highway in Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi Tunnel on NH-148AE

The Delhi project covers an 8.1-km six-lane road tunnel on NH-148AE. It will connect Dwarka Expressway with Nelson Mandela Marg in Vasant Kunj and has an estimated cost of ₹6,969.67 crore. The project will be implemented under the Hybrid Annuity Mode, or HAM, and has a completion period of about five years. The tunnel includes a 3.14-km twin-tube section beneath the Southern Ridge Forest, and Tunnel Boring Machine technology will be used in that section.

Kanpur-Kabrai Greenfield Highway

The second project is the 117.7-km Kanpur-Kabrai Greenfield Highway in Uttar Pradesh. It will be a four-lane or six-lane access-controlled highway with a capital cost of ₹7,145.14 crore. This highway forms part of the Bhopal-Kanpur Economic Corridor. The National Highways Authority of India will implement it under the Build-Operate-Transfer toll model.

Project Features and Employment

The Delhi tunnel project is expected to generate about 7.54 lakh person-days of direct employment and 9.80 lakh person-days of indirect employment. The Kanpur-Kabrai highway project is expected to generate nearly 1.2 crore person-days of direct and indirect employment. The Delhi tunnel is linked with traffic movement from Gurugram, Dwarka, and Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Kanpur-Kabrai highway is projected to reduce travel time between Kanpur and Kabrai from about three and a half hours to one and a half hours.

Important Facts for Exams

• Hybrid Annuity Mode is a public-private model used in highway projects in India.
• Build-Operate-Transfer, or BOT, is a concession model used for infrastructure development.
• Tunnel Boring Machine technology is used in underground construction to reduce surface disturbance.
• PM GatiShakti National Master Plan is a national infrastructure planning framework of India.