Correct Answer :   Mumbai

More than two years after 35 men and a giant Chinese Tunnel Boring Machine began cutting though complex geological strata, India’s first undersea twin tunnels in south Mumbai are close to completion.

* Set to open in November 2023, the tunnels start near Girgaon (ahead of Marine Drive), extend north under the Arabian Sea, Girgaon Chowpatty and Malabar Hill, and end at Breach Candy’s Priyadarshini Park.

* The 2.07-km tunnels are a part of the Rs 12,721-crore Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) being built by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

* The 10.58-km MCRP links Marine Drive to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and is just one part of the Coastal Road project.

* The high-speed coastal road aims to cut down the 45-minute commute from Girgaon to Worli during peak hours to just 10 minutes.

* The tunnel entry and exit points are designed to have fibreglass facades resembling the Queen's Necklace, a famous C-shaped promenade on Marine Drive.

* The tunnels have six cross passages, with four for pedestrians and two for motorists. Each tunnel has three lanes of 3.2 metres. According to Namkak Cho, a senior tunnel engineer at Yooshin Engineering Company, two lanes in each tunnel will be operational, and the third will be used in case of an emergency or if the vehicular density increases.

* The Mumbai Coastal Road Project's most significant feature is the use of the largest tunnel boring machine (TBM) ever in India, called Mavala.

* The TBM, which weighs more than 1,700 tonnes and stands nearly 12 meters tall, was manufactured by the China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Company Ltd (CRCHI).

* It was named in honour of Shivaji's warfare experts from the Koli and Kunbi communities. The TBM was assembled and launched a year ago, and the boring work started in January 2021. The tunnels are expected to open in November this year..

Source : Indian Express