New Delhi 15 October: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari virtually initiated the first blasting for Zojila Tunnel project on NH-1 in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Zojila Tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Dras, Kargil and Leh regions.
Terming Zojila tunnel as Asia’s longest tunnel, Gadkari said, “The tunnel will certainly be used in changing the economy of Ladakh, Leh and Kashmir. With the efforts all the people of our department, we have also saved about Rs 4,000 crores in this runnel work”.
The project holds strategic significance, as the Zojila Pass is located at an altitude of 11,578 feet. During winter, it remains closed due to heavy snowfall, thereby cutting off the Ladakh region form Kashmir.
Zojila Tunnel length is 14.15 km, approach road length 18.63 km and total project length is 32.78 km.
The tunnel project was initially conceived in 2004-05 to bring an all-round economic development and socio-cultural integration of J&K and Ladakh. It was given to the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) in July 2016 for implementation on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model.
Work was awarded to M/s ITNL (ILFC) at Rs 4,899.42 crore and approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) was obtained for a total project cost of Rs 6,808.69 crore for completion within 7 years.
The contract agreement was signed on January 24, 2018. Work progressed up to July 2018 but the project was stuck to financial problems faced by ILFS. The contract was terminated on January 15, 2019.
In February 2020, Gadkari reviewed this whole project in detail and in order to reduce the cost and execute this project on priority, the matter was referred to an expert committee.
Source: ANI