IL&FS given four years to build tunnel
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd for construction of Zojila tunnel.
To be completed in four years, the tunnel would cost Rs.6,808.69 crore incuding Rs.4,899.42 crore for civil works.
The 14.15-km tunnel will provide all weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh in the remote northern regions of the country.
The MoU was signed on 25 Jan 2018 between National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, and IL&FS for the 2-lane bi-directional Zojila Tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir. It will b India’s longest road tunnel.
The project has strategic and socio-economic importance and will be an instrument for the development of the economically backward districts in Jammu & Kashmir.
The project would be bi-directional single tube tunnel with a parallel 14.2-km long egress tunnel between Baltaland Minamarg in the state of J&K.
The tunnel will be an engineering marvel, a first of its kind in such geographical area. It will have all modern technical safety arrangements such as cut and cross ventilation system, two axial fans, fully transverse ventilation system, uninterrupted power supply, CCTV monitoring, variable messaging boards, traffic logging equipment , tunnel radio, emergency telephone system etc.
The main objective of the project is to provide all whether connectivity to strategically important Leh region in Jammu & Kashmir which at the moment is limited to at best 6 months in a year because of snow on the passes and threat of avalanches. This project, along with other ongoing projects like 6.5 km long Z-Morh tunnel at Gagangir would ensure safe, fast and cheap connectivity between the two regions of Kashmir and Ladakh.
Speaking on the occasion Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, urged the construction company to make efforts to complete the project faster than the seven years assigned for it so that its benefits can reach the people of the region at the earliest.
He also urged the company to explore whether it is technically feasible to lay railway tracks in the tunnel along with the road. fii-news.com
