Gadkari reviews construction work of all-weather Z-Morh tunnel on Srinagar-Leh highway

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday reviewed the construction work of the strategically important 6.5-km Z-Morh tunnel here on the Srinagar-Leh highway.

Speaking with reporters at the Z-Morh tunnel site, Gadkari said his ministry is also building 20 tunnels of a total length of 32 km in Jammu and Kashmir and 11 tunnels of a total length of 20 km in Ladakh.

The cost of building these 31 tunnels in Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will be around Rs 1.4 lakh crore, the road transport and highways minister said.

Gadkari claimed that in the past two years, the Modi government has been able to do the same amount of work related to road projects in Jammu and Kashmir that earlier took 50 years.

He said that after the completion of the Z-Morh tunnel, the local tourism economy will get a boost.

The Z-Morh tunnel between Gagangir and Sonmarg will provide connectivity in all weather conditions between Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir and Kargil in Ladakh.

Gadkari noted that tourism is the sector where 49 per cent of capital expenditure happens on the employment generation.

Asked whether the speed of construction work of the Z-Morh tunnel increased after Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh became Union territories, Gadkari said, ''These issues are for you to evaluate (ye sab baaten apke adhyan aur chintan ke liye hai).'' The project cost of the Z-Morh tunnel is Rs 2,300 crore.

The 6.5-km-long Z-Morh tunnel project is under the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

For the Z-Morh tunnel, there is a five-km approach road and the tunnel is 6.5-km long and is bi-directional. It also has an escape tunnel for emergencies.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)