The work on the Zojila tunnel is likely to commence from 15 October 2020. Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari is likely to inaugurate the work on the tunnel which will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Leh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the bi-directional tunnel in May 2018.
However in 2019, the contract awarded to IL&FS was terminated as the company dropped the project due to financial problems. The Centre then decided to build the project in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode instead of the hybrid annuity model (HAM) as it had planned earlier.
The government invited fresh bids in June 2020 and the work was awarded to Megha Engineering and Infrastructure (MEIL), which has emerged as the lowest bidder for the project by quoting Rs 4,400 crore.
The tunnel is of strategic importance since it will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Leh while the current national highway that connects the two, remains shut for nearly six months due to snowfall during winter.
The government has done away with a parallel emergency tunnel in the Zojila project, changing the initial design. This has slashed the project cost to around Rs 4,400 crore. The government was earlier planning to build two bidirectional tunnels as part of the project, but has now decided to build a single two-way tunnel.
The 14.2 km long tunnel which has been delayed for a few years had seen cost escalation to the tune of around Rs 1,600 crore after it was dropped by IL&FS Transportation Network.
The cost reduction was achieved after doing away with the second tunnel, among other factors.
The deadline for the project is six years. The connecting road will also see construction of two twin-tube unidirectional tunnels at Nilghar totalling around 2.4 km between Sonamarg and Baltal.
This road will connect the Zojila Tunnel with the crucial Z-Morh Tunnel. The work for this has been awarded to APCO Amarnathji Tunnelway at a cost of Rs 2,379 crore in January 2020.
