Latest News | MEIL Completes Excavation Work of Tunnel 1 of Zojila Tunnel Project

New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) on Monday said it has completed the excavation work of tunnel 1 of the Zojila Tunnel.

Once fully completed, the all-weather tunnel project will connect Srinagar to Ladakh -- which faces connectivity issues especially during winters -- cutting travel time between the two places by up to five hours.

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In a statement, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) said it has "achieved a breakthrough in the all-weather Zojila Tunnel construction in the Jammu & Kashmir-Ladakh region. The daylight streamed into the completing excavation of 472 meters tube 2 of tunnel 1 (of the project) on Monday".

The 448-metre tube 1 was daylighted earlier this month on the occasion of Diwali on November 4, 2021, it said.

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It was awarded the Rs 4,600-crore project on October 1, 2020, in the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode. The excavation work of tunnel 2 is already underway, according to MEIL.

According to an official statement issued earlier, the Zojila project involves the construction of a 14.15-km-long tunnel at an altitude of about 3,000 metres under Zojila pass (currently motorable only for six months in a year) on NH-1 connecting Srinagar and Leh through Dras and Kargil.

It is one of the most dangerous stretches in the world to drive a vehicle and this project is also geo-strategically sensitive.

The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar Valley and Leh (Ladakh plateau) on NH-1, and will bring about an all-round economic and socio-cultural integration of Jammu & Kashmir (Now UTs of J&K and Ladakh), the official statement had said.

Hyderabad-based MEIL is among the major infrastructure companies in India, having a presence in about 10 countries. HRS hrs

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)