Road tunnel through Zojila to reduce travel time between Srinagar and Leh
New Delhi, Jan 4 (IBNS): Jammu and Kashmir's capital Srinagar and Leh -- the state's Buddhist heartland -- will be connected by an all-weather tunnel through Zojila, according to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRT&H).
On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval to the construction, operation and maintenance of theTunnel with Parallel Escape (Egress) Tunnel excluding approaches on Srinagar-Leh section connecting NH-1A at Km 95.00 and at Km 118.00 in Jammu & Kashmir on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode.
According to a Tweet from the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRT&H), this will be India's longest road tunnel and will reduce the travel time from 3 hours 30 minutes to 15 minutes.
The project has strategic and socio-economic importance and shall be an instrument for the development of the economically backward districts in Jammu & Kashmir, said MoRT&H.
If everything goes according to plan, the construction will be completed in seven years (reckoned from the date of commencement of construction).
The civil construction cost of the project is Rs 4899.42 crore.
The total capital cost of the project is Rs 6808.69 crore and includes cost towards land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities as well as maintenance and operation cost of tunnel for four years.
The Project aims to construct14.150 km long two-lane bidirectional single tube tunnel with a parallel 14.200 km long egress tunnel excluding approaches between Baltal and Minamarg in J&K.
The construction of approaches of this tunnel is being undertaken separately, the ministry said.
The project will be implemented by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways through National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).
The main objective of the project, according to the ministry, is to provide all whether connectivity to strategically important Leh region in Jammu & Kashmir which at the moment is limited to at best six months because of snow on the passes and threat of avalanches.
This project alongwith other ongoing projects like 6.5 km long Z-Morh tunnel at Gagangir is expected to ensure safe, fast and cheap connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh.
Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari, tweeted, "The project, on completion will generate employment at multiple levels as local businesses get linked to National market and the beautiful region is able to receive round the year tourist traffic."
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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