The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a 6-lane road tunnel for NH-148AE connecting Dwarka Expressway (NH 248 BB) with Nelson Mandela Marg in Vasant Kunj, Delhi. The project has a total length of 8.1 km and a capital cost of ₹6969.67 crore, to be implemented on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) under the NH(O) scheme.
The tunnel project will provide faster connectivity between West and South Delhi, specifically linking UER 2/Dwarka Expressway with Vasant Kunj. It will benefit traffic from Gurugram, Dwarka, IGI Airport, and West Delhi moving toward South Delhi. The underground twin-tube tunnel minimizes surface disruption and preserves the Southern Ridge Forest, with 1.98 km of the tunnel section passing beneath the Ridge area.
The proposed tunnel takes off from Shivmurti Interchange and terminates before the intersection of Nelson Mandela Marg and Mahipalpur Chhatarpur Road. The project includes 3.140 km of tunnel, 0.980 km of tunnel approach ramp, 0.554 km approach with RE Wall, 2.556 km elevated portion, and 0.870 km of at-grade road. Additional infrastructure includes a 1.8 km elevated road along Nelson Mandela Marg to mitigate congestion, an additional flyover from Chhatarpur towards Mahipalpur, and an elevated U-turn for right-turn traffic toward Chhatarpur.
The project is expected to generate substantial employment, with estimates indicating 264 person-days per lane-kilometer of direct employment and 55 person-days per lane-kilometer of indirect employment. This translates to approximately 7.54 lakh person-days of direct employment and 9.80 lakh person-days of indirect employment during construction. The enhanced connectivity will also stimulate additional economic activity in the project vicinity.
The tunnel will eventually connect with the Barapullah elevated road, providing integrated connectivity between West Delhi, South Delhi, East Delhi, Ghaziabad, and NOIDA. NHAI is also proposing an elevated corridor between AIIMS and Mahipalpur as part of the overall transportation network enhancement.