On October 14, 2022 China Overseas Engineering Group Co. Ltd and China Railway N. 2 Engineering Group Co Ltd launched a 6.4 m diameter Robbins Double Shield TBM. The TBM will bore the 13.1 km headrace tunnel for the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project (SMDMP) located in Sindhuli and Ramechhap districts. Which are about 120 km southeast of Kathmandu on BP Highway, Nepal. The tunnel - connected to a new 28.62 MW surface powerhouse on the Marin River to alleviate the shortage of power supply in the area, will be used also for farmlands irrigation in the districts of Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rauthat and Bara in the Terai Plain, diverting water from the Sunkoshi River to the Marin River.   

The tunnel is the machine's second: on its 12.2km first tunnel (the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project), the TBM finished nearly one year early and achieved 1,202 m advance in one month. Click here for a video of the TBM and visit https://www.robbinstbm.com/. 44/22.