Arunachal Frontier Highway, officially notified as the National Highway-913 and also called Bomdila-Vijaynagar Highway, connecting Bomdila in northwest to Vijaynagar in southeast including 800 km greenfield section and network of new tunnels & bridges, is mostly lntermediate-lane (5.5 m or 18 ft) and in some sections 2-lane paved-shoulder under-construction national highway along the India-Tibet border in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The 1,748km-long (1,086mi) highway itself will cost ₹27,000 crore (equivalent to ₹290billionorUS$3.4billion in 2023) and total cost including 6 additional inter-corridors is ₹40,000 crore (equivalent to ₹420billionorUS$5.0billion in 2023).
In some places, this highway will run as close as 20 km from the LAC. To be constructed by MoRTH in 9 packages, all packages will be approved by the end of FY 2024-25 (March 2025) and construction will be completed in 2 years by 31 March 2027.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Of the total route, 800km is greenfield, rest brownfield will be upgraded and tunnels will be built.[7] This highway in the north & east Arunachal along the China border would complement the Trans-Arunachal Highway (through the middle of Arunachal) and the Arunachal East-West Corridor (in south Arunachal in foothills along the Assam border) as major highways spanning the whole state, pursuing the Look East connectivity policy.[8][9]
History
Conveived
In 2016, empowered committee on border infrastructure asked the MoRTH to prepare the detailed project reports (DPR) as per the alignment agreed by the home ministry, defence ministry & Arunachal state government. In 2018, Home ministry enhanced the alignment for the additional connectivity.[1][2] MoRTH identifies the highway as one of the 29 corridors close to the 3,600km international border, to be undertaken as a NHDP (which has been subsumed by the Bharatmala project), though there is "little habitation" along the proposed route and only "small stretches of minor roads".[4]
Construction
It will be constructed in the following nine packages,[10] all approvals and land acquisition will be progressively completed by March 2025, and the construction will be progressively completed by March 2027[1][2] in fully government-funded "engineering procure and construct" (EPC) mode.[11]
Package-1 Nafra–Lada, 141 km (Nafra–Dibrick–Sachung–Lada):[10] full budget approved in 2023.
Package-2 Lada–Sarli, 200 km:[10] for 106 km budget of ₹ 2,249 crore approved in Feb 2024.[11]
Package-3 Sarli-Tali, 201 km (Sarli-Huri–Parsi Parlo–Tali):[10]
Sarli-Huri: for 35 km a budget of ₹626.92 crore approved in Feb 2024.[11]
Package-4 Tali–Mechuka, 225 km (Tali–Taliha–Siyum–Mechuka):[10]
Package-5 Mechuka–Bile, 183 km (Mechuka–Tato–Monigong–Tato–Bile):[10]
Package-6 Bile–Hunli, 230 km (Bile–Migging–Tuting–Singa–Anelye–Hunli):[10]
Highway will generate employment and increase tourism in these hard-to-reach areas.
Highway will check Chinese incursions into Indian territory. China has built an extensive road and railway network on its side, posing a security risk to India as the region is relatively inaccessible on the Indian side.
Wildlife protection
India's National Board for Wildlife approved diversion of 310 hectares of Namdapha National Park - habitat for tigers (India is home to 76% of world's tiger population), clouded leopards, and red pandas (only panda species in India) - forest land for this highway for boosting state's remotest habitation's socio-economic development. The wildlife protection is a major consideration for the project, and to ensure the wildlife movement corridors are not disrupted by the highway the wildlife passage culverts and underpasses customised to the site-specific data-backed research have been constructed.[14] The highway will also cross the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary.
To providing missing interconnectivity between three horizontal national highways across Arunachal Pradesh - Frontier Highway, Trans-Arunachal Highway and East-West Industrial Corridor Highway - following six vertical and diagonal national highway corridors of total 2178 km length will be built, which will also provide faster access to geostrategically important areas on India-China LAC.[16][17]
Listed west to east and within that south to north.
Tawang-Yongphulla Highway spur, proposed as a 100 km long western spur from Tawang to Yongphulla Airport in Bhutan (upgraded by India and jointly used by the Indian Army and Bhutan Army)[18] in eastern Bhutan via Lumla-Yabab in India and Trashigang in Bhutan.
Miao-Kharsang spur (approval-unknown)
Miao-Kharsang Highway spur is likely awaiting approval as the National Highway, though state-level lower-status connectivity plan may exist (Nov 2025 update).
Connectivity
VVP feeder roads (approved)
Under the Vibrant Villages Programme, feeder roads to 122 border villages in Arunachal, at the cost of ₹2,205 crore, are being constructed which will connect to the Arunachal Frontier Highway. This budget also includes community centers and public infrastructure in those villages along the India-Tibet border to empower the villagers.[14]
Within Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Frontier Highway will intersect with the:
Swadesh Darshan Tourist Circuits along the highways in Arunachal: In 2015 under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, the Indian approved the funds to develop the following two tourist circuits in Arunachal Pradesh:[19]
"Bhalukpong-Bomdila-Tawang Tourist Circuit" along the Arunachal Frontier Highway at the cost of ₹49.77 crore: The "facilities like accommodation, cafeteria, wayside amenities, last mile connectivity, pathways, toilet were built at Sorang Monastery, Lumpo, Zemithang, Bumla Pass, Gritsang, TSO lake, PTSO Lake, Thingbu and Grenkha Hot Spring, Lumla, Sela Lake." A multipurpose hall was built at Jang.[19]
"Nafra-Seppa-Pappu-Pasa-Pakke Valleys-Sangdupota-New Sagalee-Ziro-Yomcha Tourist Circuit" along the Trans-Arunachal Highway at the cost of ₹97.14 crores: The "helipad, wayside amenities, trekking trails, rafting centre, log huts, craft bazaar, eco park, tourist facilitation centres, parking, multipurpose Hall, festival ground etc." were built.[19]
2022 Nov-Dec: Construction already commenced on 192 km and the whole highway route notified as the National Highway NH-913. MoRTH announced that all approvals and land acquisition will be progressively completed by March 2025, and the construction will be progressively completed by March 2027 in the overlapping phases.[1][2]
2023 May: All the DPR (detailed project reports) for the main route and the six inter-corridors, various approvals including environmental and forest, and land acquisition will be completed by March 2025, and construction will be completed in 2 years by March 2027.[21]
2024 Feb: For the main route, the budget for nearly 500 km of the total 1,748 km has been approved after completion of DPR.[11]
2025 Sep: Chief Engineer of Arunachal PWD stated that the revised target completion date is fy2028-29 (fiscal year ending on 31 March 2029).[22]
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