Rajnath inaugurates BRO's two centres of excellence

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated two centres of excellence of the Border Roads Organisation that have been set up to foster growth in the construction of roads, bridges, airfields and tunnels as well as to ensure road safety.

One of the centres will institutionalise the knowledge gained by the BRO over the years in the development of almost 60,000 kilometres of roads, 56,000 metres of bridges, 19 airfields and four tunnels in the eastern and north-western parts of the country, officials said.

The two centres have been established at the BRO headquarters in the national capital.

"These centres have been established to achieve excellence in road safety as well as foster growth in construction of roads, bridges, airfields and tunnels," the defence ministry said. The first-ever solo woman motorcycle expedition by Kanchan Ugursandi to Umling La Pass in Ladakh was also flagged off on the occasion.

Officials said she will cover 17 mountain passes, some of which are located at more than 15,000 ft altitude. At 19,300 feet, the Umlingla pass is one of the world's highest motorable passes.