Zojila Tunnel: All you need to know about India's longest road tunnel

The 14.15 km Zojila Tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.
Reportage: Megha Manchanda/PTI
Graphics Etc: Ashish Narsale, Aslam Hunani, Mahipal Soni, Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com

IMAGE: A bulldozer clears the rubble after a TNT explosion during the start of the first section of the Chenani-Nashri tunnel project, at Chenani village, about 90 km north of Jammu. Photograph: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters

On January 24, the infrastructure firm IL&FS Transportation Networks and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, under the ministry of road transport and highways, signed a memorandum of understanding to construct the Zojila tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir.

All that you need to know about the project:

Total Cost: Rs. 68.08 billion. It includes

+ Land Acquisition

+ Resettlement

+ Rehabilitation

+ Other pre-construction activities

+ Maintenance and Operation cost for 4 years

The project: On January 3, the Union Cabinet approved the construction, operation and maintenance of the Zojila Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, mainly to provide all-weather connectivity to Srinagar, Kargil and Leh and to bring about all-round economic and socio-cultural integration of these regions.

The region: The Zojila Pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway, which remains closed during winter (December to April) due to heavy snowfall and avalanches cutting off the Leh-Ladakh region from Kashmir.

Zojila Tunnel: Features

Cut and cross-ventilation system

Fully transverse ventilation system

Uninterrupted power supply

CCTV monitoring

Variable messaging boards

Traffic logging equipment

Tunnel radio

Emergency telephone system

The tunnel: It would be a two-lane bi-directional tunnel of 14.15 km length. The total length of National Highways in J&K is 1,245 km.

The government says it will be India's longest road tunnel.

The total capital cost of the project is Rs 68.08 billion, including the cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation, and other pre-construction activities, as well as maintenance and operation cost of the tunnel for four years.

The civil construction cost of the project is Rs 48.99 billion and the construction period of the project is seven years.

The tunnel will have a cut and cross-ventilation system, fully transverse ventilation system, uninterrupted power supply, CCTV monitoring, variable messaging boards, traffic logging equipment, tunnel radio, emergency telephone system.

Zojila Tunnel: Facts & Figures

Two-lane bi-directional tunnel