Finishing nearly a year early, the TBM mining the headrace tunnel on Nepal’s Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project (SMDMP) celebrated its breakthrough on 8 May in the Sindhuli district.
Contractor China Overseas Engineering Group Co. Ltd. (COVEC) launched the 6.4m-diameter Robbins Double Shield TBM in October 2022. Over the course of its 13.3km-long drive, the TBM overcame complex geology including squeezing ground and fault zones to arrive at the exit shaft 11 months ahead of schedule. COVEC reports the TBM set several world records for double shield TBMs of its diameter, mining 1,503.3m in one month on 26 March this year, and on 17 March setting a single day record of more than 72.6m.
As part of the SMDMP, the tunnel will connect to a new 28.6MW surface powerhouse to mitigate power supply shortages as well as providing year-round irrigation, boosting agriculture in the region.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal attended the breakthrough ceremony and highlighted the project’s importance for the national economy—along with the benefits of hydropower, the increased agriculture production will help ensure food security and self-sufficiency, decreasing the “yawning trade deficit,” he said.
It is Nepal’s second TBM-excavated tunnel project, and also the TBM’s second tunnel in Nepal, having previously completed 12.2km of tunnelling for the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project in 2019.
“Successfully finishing these first two projects is really a good thing for the country and for our industry,” said Robbins president Lok Home at the TBM breakthrough.
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