Zoji-la Tunnel is a 14 km (8.7 mi) upcoming road tunnel built near in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The tunnel along with Z-Morh Tunnel (which is 22 kilometers from Zoji-la tunnel towards Srinagar ) will ensure year long road connectivity between Srinagar and Leh which currently remains closed for about seven months due to snow.
The tunnel will be build under EPC mode (engineering, procurement, construction) wherein Govt of India will provide the money and the executing agency will do the construction and will later hand over the project to Govt of India.
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) had invited tenders for the Zojila tunnel project.
The tunnel having a length of 14.15 km is single-tube and bi-directional. There is also a parallel escape tunnel 14.2-km long and three vertical shafts for providing ventilation system and the estimated cost of the project is Rs 8,000-10,000 crore.
Conditions for constructing the project are expected to be challenging in terms of adverse weather: Extremely low temperatures (minus 45-degree celsius), avalanches, low oxygen, wind, chill factor, and others.
The project was put up for bidding for the first time in April 2013.
Zojila tunnel is a complex project aimed at establishing year-round connectivity between Srinagar and the Leh-Ladakh region.
Currently, Leh-Ladakh is cut off from the rest of India for almost six months due to heavy snowfall. The project site is located at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway, which makes it challenging for execution because of extreme temperatures (up to -45°C), winds, avalanches and low oxygen levels.