Zojila Tunnel Asia's longest tunnel in J&K coming up ahead of schedule
Sonamarg/IBNS: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the Zojila tunnel project, to be Asia's longest tunnel, is a challenging task for the construction company on Tuesday.
The Union Minister said the construction agency has been asked to complete the project by December 2023 well ahead of the scheduled time.
On the second day of his visit to J&K on Tuesday, visited twin tunnel projects, Z-Morh and Zojila, coming up on the Srinagar-Leh highway for reviewing their progress.
Gadkari on his visit to the east portal of the main Zojila tunnel near Meenamarg was briefed by the NHIDCL and Megha Engineering Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) officials about the tunnel work.
Later, the minister visited the west portal of the Zojila tunnel near Baltal, Sonamarg and reviewed the progress of the work.
He said that the central government has given a new impetus to the construction of new highways, tunnels and bridges which will bring transformative changes in the lives of people and create huge employment opportunities for the locals.
“I am satisfied with the speed of the construction,” he said, adding that the contractor (MEIL) has been asked to complete the construction work by December 2023 so that on 26 January 2024, the Prime Minister can inaugurate the Zojila tunnel.
Gadkari said that projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore are currently being implemented in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on tunnels and road infrastructure.
“There are many projects going on or in the pipeline for J&K,” he said, adding that among the projects, six are the most important for the socio-economic development of Jammu and Kashmir.
Currently owing to heavy snowfall during winters, the road from Srinagar to Leh does not remain open year-round limiting connectivity to five months
Zojila tunnel will be the strategic link to the Ladakh region, while the extensive road networks in the Himalayan region will help boost the tourism sector in the area.
In the tunnel projects, safety measures have been kept in place including vertical shafts at three places and adequate security and lighting measures with CCTV, fire alarm and heat detection systems.
Once completed the Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel.
The existing Srinagar-Ladakh highway is closed from mid-November to April, literally cutting off this entire region from the rest of the world posing a major challenge for Army and military vehicles.
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