SAIL supplied more than 9000 tonnes of steel for Atal tunnel

State-owned SAIL on Friday said it has supplied over 9,000 tonnes of steel for the all-weather Atal Tunnel which reduces the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kms and travel time by four to five hours. Atal Tunnel is the longest highway tunnel in the world. The 9.02 km long tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley, ensuring connectivity throughout the year.

New Delhi:Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has supplied majority portion of steel in the construction of the Atal Tunnel in Rohtang, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

SAIL has supplied more than 9,000 tonnes of quality steel out of 15,000 tonnes of steel used in the entire project, an official release said.

The tunnel is set to become the world's longest road tunnel at an altitude of above 3,000 metres. SAIL is the largest steel producing company in India

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan complimented SAIL and said the tunnel will be of great significance to the locals as well as for strategic movements.

"It will boost connectivity of the Spiti Valley. This is an achievement considering the very challenging conditions of the construction site and weather. SAIL has supplied a large quantity of steel for this project. It has always come forward and supplied steel for the national requirement and in future also will continue to do so," he said.

The all-weather Atal Tunnel will connect Manali to Lahaul and Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh throughout the year.

The release said that 9,000 tonnes of steel supplied by SAIL consisted of around 6,500 tonnes of TMT, 1,500 tonnes of structurals and 1,000 tonnes of plates for fabricating beams and small quantity of SAIL GP/GC sheets for constructing stations and control rooms.

Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chairman, SAIL said it is a proud moment for the company to have partnered in such an important project for strengthening India.

"The new facilities at SAIL are also adding to our capacities and expertise in fulfilling every domestic requirement. As India moves forward in becoming Atmanirbhar, SAIL will participate in producing the strong steel needed to fuel every infrastructure need of the nation," he said.

Supplied 8,500 tonne of steel for Atal Tunnel: RINL

State-owned RINL on Saturday said it has supplied over 8,500 tonne of steel for the all-weather Atal Tunnel which reduces the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kms and travel time by four to five hours.

In a statement, Rashtriya Isapt Nigam Ltd (RINL) said it has contributed to the mega project by supplying more than 8,500 tonne of TMT steel.

RINL CMD PK Rath said the company joins the nation in thanking the Prime Minister on inaugurating the engineering marvel at a height of more than 10,000 ft.

"RINL takes pride in supplying around 8,500 tonne of TMT, which is the highest share amongst all the steel suppliers in TMT section," he added.

(Inputs from ANI and PTI)