Solang (Himachal Pradesh), Jun 28 (IANS): The Rohtang Tunnel, whose foundation stone was laid by Congress president Sonia Gandhi Monday in Himachal Pradesh, will produce an estimated waste of 1.6 million tonnes of rocks and stones during its excavation.

"The excavation will produce 16 lakh tonnes of rock waste," Lt. Col. K.S. Oberoi of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) told a visiting IANS correspondent near the tunnel site.

Oberoi said much of the rock waste will be mixed with the concrete to be used for the construction of the 8.82 km long horseshoe-shaped tunnel which will be 11.25 m wide, providing room for a two-way traffic in a single tube.

"Rest (of the waste) which we can't mix with concrete will be dumped in low lying areas on the way to the tunnel site," he said, adding it poses no environmental threat to the fragile eco-system in the area.

The tunnel, which was conceptualised 26 years ago by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, is expected to be completed by 2015.