The 14.5-km Zozila tunnel to be completed in six years
DPRs have been completed for the 4.5-km Chenani-Anantnag tunnel, the 10.2-km tunnel at Sinthan Pass as well as the 10-km tunnel between Chhatru and Anantnag “will be put to tender very soon,” said Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
He gave some of the projects update when initiating the blasting for the 14.5-km Zozila Tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir on 15 Oct 2020 through video conference.
The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar valley and Leh (Ladakh plateau) on NH-1 and will bring about an all-round economic and socio-cultural integration of Jammu & Kashmir (Now UTs of J&K and Ladakh).
The tunnel is being bored at an altitude of about 3,000 m under Zozila pass, presently motorable only for 6 months in a year, on NH-1 connecting Srinagar and Leh through Dras and Kargil.
It is one of the most dangerous stretches in the world to drive a vehicle & this project is also geo-strategically sensitive.
It is expected to be completed in six years.
Currently, seven tunnel roads are under construction in the Jammu and Kashmir region, said Gadkari.
Construction of the 8,450-metre-long twin-tube tunnel between Qazigund and Banihal will be completed by the coming March. Thereafter, the 2,968 m 6-single tunnels road between Ramban and Banihal is due for completion in December 2021.
Further, the 450-m tunnel between Khilani and Kishtwar will be ready by June 2022, said the Minister, giving project updates.
Meanwhile, DPRs have been completed for the 4.5-km Chenani-Anantnag tunnel, the 10.2-km tunnel at Sinthan Pass as well as the 10-km tunnel between Chhatru and Anantnag will be put to tender very soon.
Elsewhere, Gadkari said construction of Delhi-Katra Green Expressway at a cost of Rs.21,000 crore will reduce the distance between the two important places to only 650-km.
Land acquisition is underway for the expressway, work on which will begin by December. It will connect with the Jammu Highway.
The 4-lane Jammu-Udhampur road has been completed while the road from Udhampur to Ramban will be completed by December this year.
The 33-km long Ramban-Banihal section will be completed at a cost of Rs2,168 crore by December 2021, said Gadkari. #roads #infrastructure #projects #tenders #construction #tunnel /fiinews.com
