Onlykashmir.in News Desk
A 13 member media delegation from the Press Information Bureau, Kochi, visited the Zojila Main Tunnel Project on the fourth day of an ongoing press tour of Jammu and Kashmir, gaining a first hand look at the progress, construction activity and strategic significance of one of the region’s most closely watched infrastructure undertakings.
The Zojila Tunnel Project is being executed by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited. During the visit, Yousef Es’haghpour Rahimabadi, Team Leader of the Authority Engineer for the project, walked the delegation through the construction timeline and the safety measures built into the tunnel’s design, underlining its importance for strengthening strategic logistics and securing reliable connectivity to Ladakh.
The scale of the undertaking is considerable. The Zojila Main Tunnel stretches approximately 13.15 kilometres and is being built as a bi directional passage between Baltal in Jammu and Kashmir and Minamarg in Ladakh, cutting directly through one of the most treacherous high altitude corridors in the country. Once complete, the tunnel is expected to fundamentally reshape travel across the Zojila Pass, reducing what is currently a journey of two to three and a half hours to a matter of 20 to 30 minutes.
Just as significant is the tunnel’s promise of all weather connectivity. The Zojila Pass has historically remained closed for nearly five to six months each year because of heavy snowfall, cutting Ladakh off from road access to the Valley for much of the winter. By overcoming this seasonal barrier, the project is expected to transform how essential commodities and fuel move toward Ladakh, while also improving travel safety and overall logistical efficiency for both civilian and strategic purposes.
Rahimabadi noted that the tunnel’s benefits extend beyond transit times alone, pointing to the employment opportunities the project has generated and its broader contribution to economic development in the region. The delegation’s visit continued on to Sonamarg, where journalists took in the meadow’s landscape and greenery, a reminder of the scenic backdrop against which this engineering effort is unfolding. The press tour forms part of a wider effort to showcase the pace of infrastructure development underway in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
