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The tunnel is 13.153 kilometers long, electricity work will start after 7 to 8 months

Minimarg. The final ‘breakthrough’ was achieved after a blast in the Zojila Tunnel, one of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure projects, on Tuesday. It is the world’s longest ‘single-tube’, two-pass tunnel at record altitude and is now nearing completion.

In tunnel construction work, ‘Breakthrough’ is the situation when the excavation of the tunnel is completed from both the directions and the tunnel is open for crossing on both sides. The last 2.5 meters inside the tunnel have been successfully penetrated, officials said.

This success has brought the decades-old dream of all-weather connectivity between Kashmir Valley and Ladakh closer to reality. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari pressed the remote button and detonated the blast at the ‘breakthrough’ site near the east portal of the tunnel at Minimarg in Ladakh Union Territory. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were also present on the occasion.

Officials of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation said that this success has been achieved six months ahead of schedule. According to officials, the tunnel is likely to be opened to the public in February 2028. He said that after the ‘breakthrough’ the civil works will take another 7-8 months and after that the electrical work will start.

Yousuf Eshagpur Rahimabadi, the project’s ‘authority engineer’, said that so far about 85 percent of the total work has been completed. This tunnel is 9.5 meters wide, 7.57 meters high and 13.153 kilometers long, which is being built at a height of about 11,578 feet above sea level. It is a horseshoe-shaped single-tube, two-lane road tunnel.

Officials said this geo-strategically important tunnel located on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway will provide year-round road connectivity to Ladakh and reduce the earlier travel time of 1-1.5 hours to just 15 minutes.

Once operational, this tunnel will facilitate both civilian and military movement across the dangerous Zojila Pass. Due to heavy snowfall the pass usually remains closed to traffic for three months of winter.

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