Navi Mumbai: The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) on December 29 achieved its first-ever tunnel breakthrough during the augmentation of the Hetawane Water Supply Scheme, marking a historic milestone in the corporation’s project history. The breakthrough was achieved at Shaft-4 in Wahal village under Water Tunnel Package-1, being executed by AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd.
CIDCO Vice Chairman and Managing Director Vijay Singhal, Joint Managing Director Ganesh Deshmukh, Chief Engineer Sheela Karunakaran, Superintending Engineer Pravin Sewatkar, along with senior CIDCO officials and representatives of AFCONS, were present at the site to commemorate the achievement.
Congratulating the teams, Singhal said the tunnel breakthrough was accomplished by overcoming severe geological and engineering challenges in the Deccan Sahyadri region. "Hetawane scheme is the most challenging among CIDCO’s ongoing water supply projects aimed at meeting Navi Mumbai’s growing water demand up to 2050. I am confident that the remaining tunnelling work would be completed within the planned timeframe," Singhal said.
Under the augmentation project, CIDCO is constructing a 13.25-km-long raw water tunnel and a 15.4-km-long treated water tunnel. Once completed, the scheme will enhance CIDCO’s water supply capacity from the existing 150 million litres per day (MLD) to 270 MLD.
The breakthrough was achieved under Package-1, which involves excavation of an 8.7-km-long treated water tunnel. Of this, 5.52 km of tunnelling has been completed so far. The tunnel runs at an approximate depth of 100 metres below ground level and passes through complex amygdaloidal basalt formations, posing major technical challenges.
Officials said the work involved severe space constraints, difficulties in equipment installation, and challenges in muck movement. These were addressed through detailed planning and close coordination between CIDCO engineers and the AFCONS team.
Earlier in the project, AFCONS had also set a national record by excavating 777 metres of tunnel in a single month using the 3.2-metre-diameter tunnel boring machine ‘Flamingo’, surpassing its own previous record of 714 metres achieved in May this year.
CIDCO officials said the successful tunnel breakthrough is a significant step towards strengthening long-term water security for the rapidly developing Navi Mumbai region.
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