The officials working on the treacherous Zojila tunnel, which will connect Srinagar with Ladakh, have said that the advanced technology called Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) is being used to construct the Zojila tunnel.
“Advanced technology called the Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) is being used in this work. NATM is the first of its kind of technology being used anywhere in India. NATM is a revolutionary concept as far as the technology is concerned,” an official working on the tunnel site said.
He said that the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) is an advanced technology and Kashmir is the first to have this technology where it is being used in India.
He said that the Zojila Tunnel will be a two-lane highway 9.5 meters wide and 7.57 meters high in the shape of a horseshoe.
He said the length of the tunnel is 14.15 km, which is India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.
“Several bridges are being constructed on this route and these construction works are going at a brisk pace. The deadline to complete the project is 2026,” the official said.
He said that the tunnel is Asia’s longest and will provide all-year, all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Leh.
“It will also significantly cut down travel time,” the official said.
He said that the contract to the MEIL was awarded on October 1, 2020 but the work on Zojila Tunnel connecting Jammu and Kashmir with Ladakh commenced in April 2021.
He said that as part of an ongoing project to improve connectivity in the region, 19 tunnels are being constructed at a cost of Rs 25,000 crore.
“As of now, 38 per cent of the work on the Zojila tunnel, said to be India’s longest, has been completed,” the official said.
He said that the entire work is divided into two divisions in a 33 km span.
“The first division consists of the development of an 18.5-km highway. It contains two tunnels, the first one is 435 meters long and the second has a length of 1,950 meters,” the official said.
He said that the second division involves the construction of the Zojila Tunnel of 14.15 km into a two-lane highway with 9.5 meters width and 7.57 meters height in a horseshoe shape.
“Currently, the commute between Srinagar and Leh, the largest city in Ladakh, takes over 10 hours on a good day and passes through extremely inhospitable terrain,” the official said.
He said that the Zojila Pass is a high mountain pass through which one has to travel in order to make the journey.
He said that apart from providing perennial connectivity, the tunnel also promises to cut travel time between Kashmir and Ladakh.
“The distance from Baltal to Minamarg, currently 40 km, will come down to 13 km with travel time expected to be cut by an hour and a half,” the official said.
He said that the tunnel is being built at a cost of more than Rs 4,600 crore.