Share on Facebook. January 2018: Union Cabinet approves tunnel to be built at a cost of, May 2018: Foundation stone laid by Prime Minister, March 2019: The project is to be bid again as earlier developer. [5], Road tunnel under the Zoji La pass in the Himalayas, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Limited (NHIDCL) under MoRT&H, "Zoji-La tunnel will be a boon for the armed forces and for tourists too", "Work on 6.5 km Z-Morh tunnel to begin this year", "PM Modi inaugurates Zojila project in Leh: All you need to know about India's longest tunnel", "Work On Zojila Pass Tunnel In J&K To Commence On August 15, NHIDCL Says", "Union Cabinet approved all-weather Zojila Tunnel Project", "4 players in race for ₹10,000-cr Zojila tunnel", "Work on Zoji-la Tunnel to begin on August 15", "IL&FS bags Rs 4,899-crore Zojila tunnel project in rebidding", "Cabinet approves Zojila tunnel for Rs 6809 cr; construction in 5 yrs", "Zoji La Tunnel for all-weather Kashmir-Ladakh road; PM Modi to lay foundation stone of big infra project", https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-ilfs-hit-zojila-tunnel-project-goes-for-rebid-2726474, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/roadways/fresh-bids-invited-for-zojila-tunnel-ladakh-road/articleshow/76313138.cms, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/megha-engineering-lowest-bidder-for-zojila-tunnel-quotes-rs-4509-cr-for-project/articleshow/77677323.cms, https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/megha-engineering-company-to-build-zojila-pass-tunnel-project-876159.html, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/zojila-tunnel-project-awarded-to-hyderabad-based-megha-engineering/articleshow/77755618.cms, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/gadkari-to-initiate-first-blasting-of-all-weather-zojila-tunnel-between-srinagar-and-leh/story-M1IzoZ93isMJjqgRP8C4YO.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zoji-la_Tunnel&oldid=1000241395, Articles with dead external links from December 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. This first section will have two small tunnels and five bridges. Zojila pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway which remains closed during winters (December to April) due to heavy snowfall and avalanches cutting off Leh-Ladakh region from Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the commencement of work of Zojila tunnel and ring roads in Jammu and Srinagar. It will be situated at altitude of 11,578 feet on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway (NH-1A). Prashant said that while the two fronts on east and west are being tackled, with boring in progress, an approachable intermediate access to this tunnel will open two more fronts that will be worked on in opposite directions and will catch up with the two ends that are in progress at Sonamarg and Minimarg. It is in the Himalayas, between Sonamarg and Dras city in Kargil district of the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh. The 14 km long tunnel will reduce the time to cross the Zoji La from more than 3 hours to just 15 minutes. May 19, 2018 7:30 pm. The completed tunnel will open in September 2020. # thedawn # shinkula # zojilatunnel # ataltunnel Zoji La is a high mountain pass located in the Kargil district of Ladakh. Zoji La is 15 km from Sonamarg and provides a vital link with Drass and Kargil in Ladakh but remains closed for 6-7 months (from November to May) during winter due to heavy snow fall & snow avalanches. The pass links Leh and Srinagar and provides an important link between Union Territories of Ladakh and Kashmir. The initial cost of the tunnel is US$930 million. Zojila Pass tunnel will be India's longest tunnel and Asia’s longest 2-lane bi-directional pass. The project holds strategic significance as Zojila Pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway and remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall. Scheduled for completion around 2025, the Zojila Tunnel will permit round-the-year connectivity with the strategically important regions of Kargil and Drass — which ranks as the second coldest inhabited place (population 15,500) on Earth after Russia’s Oymyakon. Zojila pass, situated at an altitude of 11,578-ft on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh NH, remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall and avalanches, cutting Leh-Ladakh region from Kashmir. In 2018, the Zojila tunnel project was launched. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The project aims at construction of 14.2 km long two-lane bi-directional single tube tunnel with a parallel 14.2 km long egress tunnel. Bang in the Middle: Construction of the ZojiLa Tunnel added by ABDUL MOHAMIN on 12:14 am January 18, 2021View all posts by ABDUL MOHAMIN →. Aman Bhatt, one of the planning engineers with MEIL, said that if the haulage from the main tunnel is ferried on trucks carrying 12 cubic meter of load, it would need 41,11,045 such trips. It consists of 14.150 km long two-lane bidirectional single tube tunnel with parallel 14.200 km long egress (escape) tunnel, making it Asia’s longest bidirectional road tunnel. Launched in May 2012, Kashmir Reader is one of the leading English language newspapers of Jammu and Kashmir. We are the organisation that has dreamt of becoming a voice of the voiceless and has pledged to be with the truth. The length of this tunnel will be 14.15 km. The whole project will cost more than Rs 4,500 crore, but that is less than the cost of the earlier shelved ZojiLa project that had seen cost escalation to the tune of Rs 1,600 crore after it was abandoned by IL&FS Transportation Network, the road development arm of the crisis-hit Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS). Sonamarg: The search is on for what would be the middle of the ZojiLa tunnel, as it is from where Asia’s longest and one of the world’s highest road tun- nels would be carved out, simultane- ously, in opposite directions. Click here for more, By ABDUL MOHAMIN on 12:14 am January 18, 2021No Comment. The Zoji-La pass has been inaugarated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Jammu & Kashmir visit. The civil construction cost of the project is, May 2017: Four private players bid for the ₹10,000 crore project namely. Once completed, the tunnel, projected as Asia’s longest, would reduce the travel time from 3 … The strategic Zojila tunnel for all-year connectivity between Leh and Srinagar may undergo some design changes to prevent cost escalation as the government plans to complete the project at the earlier estimated cost of about Rs 6,800 crore, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said.. The excavation work on the tunnel was completed in October 2017 when the south and north ends were joined. The tunnel built at an altitude of 11578 feet will be very modern. The main ZojiLa tunnel will also feature ventilation shafts which will be constructed for proper airflow. "This tunnel when completed will be … The company will also simultaneously work on the first section that is to be developed by constructing the 18.5 kilometre road towards the main tunnel reaching Baltal via Sonamarg and Nilgrath. 4. The proposed tunnel will pass through the Zojila Pass, which serves as the gateway to the Ladakh region. The government in January approved the Rs 6,809-crore strategic Zojila pass tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir. Deadline for completion set at 72 months. Prashant Kumar, deputy general manager with Hyderabad-based construction company Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), which has been entrusted with construction of this key tunnel by the Government of India-owned National Highways and Industrial Development Corporation (NHIDCL), told Kashmir Reader that advice is being sought from leading tunnelling experts in the world as well as in India on how to arrive at the middle of the tunnel. The safety features will include emergency telephones and fire-fighting cabinets at every 125 metre, pedestrian cross-passages at every 250 metre and motorable cross passages and lay-bye at every 750 metre. Zoji La tunnel. The Zojila Tunnel to be built in Kargil will be one of the most modern tunnels in the world in every respect. Zoji La Tunnel is a 14.2 km long road tunnel under Zoji La pass in the Himalayas between Sonmarg and Drass town in Kargil district of the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh, currently under construction, with completion expected about 5-7 years after commencement of construction in 2018. Zoji La was re-captured from Pakistani raiders under Operation Bison. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Rs 6,809 crore Zojila tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir’s Leh, kickstarting the work for Asia’a longest and strategic bi-directional tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar, Kargil and Leh. Zojila Tunnel. The New Austrian Tunnelling Method will be used for the ZojiLa tunnel, he said. About the challenges inside the tunnel, Prasant said that in tunnelling every meter is a challenge in itself. Aug 2020: MEIL (Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd) emerges as lowest bidder for the tender with quoted price of ₹4509 crores. FP Staff May 20, 2018 08:58:58 IST. After Atal Tunnel, the work of Zojila Tunnel starts to connect Kargil to Srinagar. Oct 15, 2020, 13:32 PM IST Image Source : FILE PHOTO. The project involves construction of a 14.15-km long tunnel at an altitude of about 3,000 m under Zojila pass (presently motorable only for six months in a … Planned as a smart tunnel, it will have the latest safety features such as fully transverse ventilation system, uninterrupted power supply, emergency lighting, CCTV monitoring, variable message signs, traffic logging equipment and tunnel radio system. PM Modi inaugurates Zojila project in Leh: All you need to know about India's longest tunnel. Zojila pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway which remains closed during winters ; It will take seven years for the completion of the project The GoI has also done away with a parallel emergency tunnel in the ZojiLa project, changing the initial design, which has led to halving the project cost to around Rs 4,400 crore. We will never give up; we will persevere to the last drop of our ink. Jammu Tawi, Mar 05. The project will reduce the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from the present three and a half hours to just fifteen minutes. Called an “adit” in tunnelling parlance, Prashant said that it was vital for the whole construction as it could expedite the tunnelling job. He said that given that several tunnel projects are coming up in JK and neighbouring areas, the company is sticking to the tested techniques. It involves construction of a 14.15-km long tunnel at an altitude of about 3,000 m under Zojila pass (presently motorable only for six months in a year) on NH-1 connecting Srinagar and Leh through Drass and Kargil. The existing road from another under-construction tunnel at Z-Morh to the main ZojilLa tunnel will also have to be widened. Zojila pass . The tunnel will reduce the travel time through the ZojiLa Pass … That project, though, involved building two separate tunnels, but the government has now decided to build a single two-way tunnel. The blasting of 14.15 km long all-weather Zojila tunnel at an altitude of 3000 metres connecting Srinagar valley and Leh will be initiated today by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The total length of the tunnels is expected to be around 244 km. The work has begun only three months ago, and presently the company is consulting the best minds in the tunnelling profession to figure out a way to reach to the middle. Once ready, the tunnel … The project is likely to be completed by 2023. Zojila pass remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall, cutting off Ladakh region from Kashmir. Zoji La is the second highest pass after Fotu La on the Srinagar-Leh highway, which often remains closed during winter. When completed, it will be the longest bidirectional … The New Austrian Tunnelling Method for constructing the tunnel. Given the rugged nature of mountains around and the harsh climate, Prasant said that the search is on for an appropriate area from where the middle of the tunnel can be reached by men as well as heavy equipment to start excavations from there. “The task is locating such a point in this treacherous terrain from where our approach and haulage is easy,” he said, explaining that instead of working on a 14-kilometre tunnel, an adit will enable work on two 7-km tunnel sections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Rs 6,809 crore Zojila tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir’s Leh. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Google+ StumbleUpon Pinterest Shares Called an ‘adit’ in tunnelling parlance, a horse-shoe shaped excavation in the middle will open up two passages in opposite directions The 14.2-km-long tunnel is to be dug 700 metres below the surface. “Inside the tunnel the temperature is always on the higher side,” Prashant said. June 2020: Fresh bids invited for construction of tunnel. October 2020: On 15 October 2020, Minister of Highways, This page was last edited on 14 January 2021, at 08:05. The construction company has already begun the job from the eastern portal in Minimarg area on Kargil side, digging a few meters deep inside the 14.2-km-long tunnel that is proposed to be dug 700 meters below the surface in the rugged, avalanche-prone mountainous terrain. The longest tunnel will be 27 km long. He said even though finding the adit is a hard task, the company will have to accomplish it by all means as it is critical for adhering to the completion time of the tunnel that has been fixed at 72 months. Our endeavour to pursue free and fair journalism is possible only when we are both editorially and financially sound. “Work will start in full swing after winters and till then we have time to stockpile all the material as well as move the machinery,” Prashant said, adding that the haulage coming out of the tunnel will be efficiently dumped keeping in view the fragile environment. It takes more than 3 hours to cross the pass but the tunnel will reduce the time. The project, earlier awarded in 2017, was terminated after the crisis-hit IL&FS. Three youths killed in Lawaypora encounter last month were involved in militancy: IGP, No end to stalemate over mutton rates: Mutton dealers protest in Srinagar, demand govt provide them livestock, NHRC orders compensation for infant deaths linked to consumption of spurious drugs in Udhampur, Duty of State to protect life of citizens if perception of threat: HC on plea by BJP corporator, GRAS portal to enable people to pay govt receipts from anywhere: Govt, 32nd National Road Safety month kick started in Kashmir. The tunnel will reduce the travel time through the ZojiLa Pass from 3 hours to just 15 minutes, and will also achieve the critical all-weather connectivity across the ZojiLa Pass on the Sonamarg-Kargil section of the strategic highway that connects Srinagar to Leh, which remains cut off for nearly six months due to snowfall during winter. 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