On January 3, 2018, the Union cabinet gave its approval to the construction of a 14.2 km tunnel in Zojila, which will reduce the travel line between Srinagar and Leh to 15 minutes from the current 3.5 hours. The project will provide all-weather connectivity between Ladakh and Kashmir, and also give a strategic edge to the armed forces in the region, which remains cut off from the rest of the country during the winter months.
Set to be Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel project, the project is to be built in seven years at an estimated cost Rs 6,809 crore, which includes the cost towards land acquisition, re-allotment and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities as well as maintenance and operation cost of tunnel for a period of four years.
The two lane bi-directional single tube tunnel of 14.1 km length will have a parallel 14.2 km egress tunnel excluding approaches between Baltal and Minamarg in the state.
The project, to be implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways through the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), would provide socio-economic benefits for the Ladakh region. It would aid in safe, fast, easy and economic connectivity between the regions of Kashmir and Ladakh.
Zojila is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar–Kargil–Leh National Highway, and remains closed from December to April due to heavy snowfall and avalanches. These extreme weather conditions cut off the Ladakh region from Kashmir. The site where the tunnel is planned witnesses temperature as low as –40 degrees Celsius, rendering construction work difficult. So though the plan to construct the tunnel is about two decades old, it could not begin.
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