Sonamarg, Jan 9: The highly anticipated 6.5-km Z-Morh Tunnel, under construction near the Gagangir area in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district along the Srinagar-Leh National Highway, is set to be inaugurated next week, officials confirmed Wednesday.
While the exact date of the inauguration has not been officially announced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to unveil the tunnel on either January 13 or 14. Preparations for the event are already in full swing.
Top civil and police officials have been inspecting the tunnel site as part of the preparations. Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, Inspector General of Police Kashmir Vidhi Kumar Birdi, Deputy Inspector General of Police for Central Kashmir Range, Deputy Commissioner of Ganderbal, Senior Superintendent of Police Ganderbal, along with representatives from the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) and APCO Amarnathji Tunnelway Pvt Ltd, conducted a thorough review of the site in anticipation of the PM’s visit.
Once operational, the Z-Morh Tunnel will provide crucial all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Sonamarg, a popular tourist destination in Ganderbal. The tunnel is bi-directional, featuring an escape tunnel for emergency situations.
The entire project, including a 5-km approach road, has an estimated cost of Rs 2400 crore.
Work on the Z-Morh Tunnel faced delays between 2017 and 2019 due to financial challenges faced by the original contractor, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), which eventually abandoned the project. The government then reissued a call for bids in June 2019, with a revised project cost of Rs 2378.76 crore under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) annuity basis.
Subsequently, the contract for completing the Z-Morh Tunnel was awarded to APCO Amarnathji Tunnelway Pvt Ltd, which is now overseeing its construction at a cost of Rs 2379 crore.
