Cabinet Approves ₹6,970 Crore Tunnel Linking Dwarka Expressway to Vasant Kunj

The ₹6,969.67 crore project is expected to ease congestion, improve connectivity across Delhi and create substantial employment during construction.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of an 8.1-km, six-lane tunnel and road corridor connecting the Dwarka Expressway with Nelson Mandela Marg in Vasant Kunj. The ₹6,969.67 crore project is expected to ease congestion, improve connectivity across Delhi and create substantial employment during construction.

Major tunnel to improve travel across Delhi

The project will be developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) as part of the National Highways (Original) Programme. The new corridor will provide a direct high-speed link between the Urban Extension Road-2 (UER-2), Dwarka Expressway and South Delhi, making travel easier for commuters from Gurugram, Dwarka, Indira Gandhi International Airport and West Delhi heading towards Vasant Kunj and surrounding areas. The main carriageway will stretch 6.3 km, while the overall project length of 8.1 km includes tunnel sections, approach ramps, elevated roads and at-grade stretches designed to improve traffic flow at key junctions.

Tunnel designed to protect Southern Ridge

A key feature of the project is its underground twin-tube tunnel, which will pass beneath the Rangpuri section of the Southern Ridge Forest. Around 1.98 km of the tunnel will run below the protected ridge using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) technology, reducing disruption to the forest and minimising environmental impact.

The tunnel will begin at the Shivmurti Interchange and emerge near the junction of Nelson Mandela Marg and Mahipalpur-Chhatarpur Road. To ease congestion at this busy intersection, the project also includes a 1.8-km elevated road along Nelson Mandela Marg, an additional flyover from Chhatarpur towards Mahipalpur and an elevated U-turn for smoother traffic movement.

NHAI is also planning an elevated corridor between AIIMS and Mahipalpur, which will connect the new tunnel with the Barapullah elevated road, creating seamless links between West, South and East Delhi as well as Ghaziabad and Noida.

Project expected to create over 17 lakh person-days of employment

The government estimates that the project will generate nearly 7.54 lakh person-days of direct employment and around 9.80 lakh person-days of indirect employment during construction. Additional jobs are also expected to be created as improved connectivity attracts new economic activity and development along the corridor.

Officials said the project will strengthen Delhi's road infrastructure, reduce travel time, improve connectivity between major residential and commercial areas and support the capital's growing transport needs while protecting environmentally sensitive zones.