Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has been awarded a contract worth Rs 17.5 billion by IRCON International to construct two tunnels and a bridge on Katra-Banihal Section of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla New BG railway line project. The project will be completed in 30 months.

The contract involves construction of two main tunnels (T13 & part of T14) totalling 12.8 km along with parallel safety tunnels. a 200 m bridge adjoining these two tunnels and a station yard at Basindadhar.

This is the fourth order HCC has been awarded by IRCON international. The first order was to construct 11 km long Pir Panjal Railway tunnel. The longest transportation tunnel in India, which has been successfully commissioned. The other two orders include construction of 10.2 km long T48 tunnel between Sumber and Sangaldan stations and 5.1 km long tunnel T49A which are currently under construction.

Commenting on the order, Arun Karambelkar, president & CEO, HCC, said 'HCC is pioneer in tunnelling works with over 300 kms of tunnels constructed so far by various methodologies and in some of the most challenging geologies in the world. Besides, the company is currently engaged in tunnelling works of over 280 kms across various sectors. Repeat orders from IRCON reflect our expertise in executing complex projects under challenging conditions.'

Shares of the company declined Rs 0.1, or 0.42%, to trade at  Rs 23.55.  The total volume of shares traded  was  220,917 at the BSE (12.18 p.m., Tuesday).