Inside India's $9.6 Billion Push To Build Tunnel Machines, Cut China Reliance

BEML, India's state-owned defense and engineering company, aims to develop tunnel-boring machines in a bet that the country's infrastructure boom can support a homegrown effort to replace foreign suppliers.

The company plans to initially focus on smaller tunnel-boring machines, or TBMs, used in metro rail, hydropower, irrigation and water projects before expanding into larger equipment, said Chairman and Managing Director Shantanu Roy (in pic).

The move is part of India's broader efforts to reduce import reliance, particularly from China. The South Asian nation is among the biggest users of tunneling machines as it accelerates spending on transportation and underground infrastructure.

While China's recent tightening of export controls on certain categories of construction equipment has underscored India's dependence on overseas suppliers, Roy said BEML's plans were already in motion.

"We have done our homework," Roy said, adding "we are ready with a plan."

BEML, which makes military and mining vehicles and rail cars, is onboarding a global consultant to support the effort to eventually gain self-reliance.

Rather than targeting the largest and most technically demanding machines from the outset, BEML plans to begin with TBMs between 3.5 meters and 6.5 meters in diameter - commonly used in urban transit and utility projects and represent a smaller segment of the market.

Bullet Train

TBMs excavating the Mumbai section of India's first bullet-train line have cutter-heads about 13.6 meters in diameter and were manufactured by Germany's Herrenknecht AG at its China facility. 

BEML aims to develop proprietary technology instead of assembling imported kits, Roy said. "It will be an indigenous technology," he said. "The IP will be Indian."

Whether that ambition translates into a commercially viable domestic industry remains to be seen. India has repeatedly sought to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains in strategically important sectors, only to find that developing local manufacturing ecosystems takes longer than building assembly capacity. 

Rare-earth magnets are a recent example. After Beijing restricted exports of rare-materials and technologies, New Delhi approved a 72.8 billion rupee ($820 million) program aimed at establishing 6,000 tons of annual permanent-magnet capacity. Yet India was still importing all of its high-performance neodymium magnets as of July because it lacked industrial-scale facilities to convert rare-earth materials into metals, alloys and finished magnets, according to the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

The country's efforts at solar manufacturing also paint a similar picture. While India has built one of the world's largest solar-module manufacturing industries, it remains heavily reliant on imports for key upstream materials and equipment, according to the government's policy think-tank and industry studies.

Tunneling Investments

BEML sees the market for tunneling machinery growing as India increases investments in underground infrastructure. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the country aims to invest up to $9.6 billion in tunneling projects over the next five years, while policymakers have encouraged local manufacturing of construction equipment.

Demand is also being driven by strategic road and railway projects across India's Himalayan frontier with China, where difficult terrain often requires extensive tunneling.

Roy estimates India's TBM market could expand about 12 per cent annually over the next seven to eight years, roughly twice the pace of the global market.

Still, the company's ambitions remain in their early stages. BEML expects it would take about 22 months to deliver its first machine after winning a contract.

"Gradually we will move on to the next level," Roy said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)