Engineering Push Gains Momentum in India

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai stands as the world's tallest man-made structure, a marvel of engineering since its inauguration in January 2010. A decade and a half later, the world is getting ready to mesmerize yet again, thanks to a bunch of super projects in the making- from Saudi Arabia’s Neom to India’s Chenab Rail Bridge.

Neom is taking shape in Saudi Arabia’s far northwest, stretching from the sun-scorched Red Sea coast into

craggy mountain badlands. We are talking about the
epitome of desserts with summer temperatures over 100F and almost no fresh water. It is soon set to be home to millions of people who’ll live amidst a serene environment, relying on desalination plants and a fully renewable electric grid.

Things are happening quick and fast in India as well. An engineering marvel taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Chenab Bridge in Jammu & Kashmir (a part of the Udhampur Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link project) was inaugurated last month, marking the successful completion of what has been billed as the biggest civil-engineering challenge by any railway project in India’s recent history. Sanctioned in 2003 and contracted in 2008, amidst concerns regarding its safety and stability, the single-arch Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu & Kashmir has successfully cleared all requisite tests. It is poised to become a historic landmark in India's railroad chronicles. It is quite clear that the Indian engineering realm is making the most out of the make-in-India momentum.