Himachal Pradesh will have the world’s longest and highest tunnel by 2025

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) chief General Lt. Rajeev Chaudhary informed that the tunnel will be 4.25 km long, the work for which is scheduled to begin next year in July-August.

South portal of Atal tunnel, Rohtang at dhundhi near Manali. Currently, Atal Tunnel is the highest tunnel in the world above 10,000 ft. (Express Photo by Pradeep Kumar)

India will soon be home to the world’s highest and longest tunnel. Connecting Zanskar Valley in Ladakh to Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh, the tunnel will be located beneath the 16,580 ft. Shinku-La Pass. Slated to be completed by 2025, the tunnel will provide safe, all-weather connectivity between these two mountainous areas.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) chief General Lt. Rajeev Chaudhary informed that the tunnel will be 4.25 km long, the work for which is scheduled to begin next year in July-August. The Director General of Border Roads (DGBR) added informing that the tunnel will be open to all vehicles after the blacktopping of the highway is completed. The project is titled ‘Project Yojak’ and has been approved by the Centre.

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According to reports, the Nimmu-Darcha road (Nimmu is in Zanskar while Darcha is in Lahaul) exercise has been stalling for 20 years due to technical glitches.

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At this moment, the Atal Tunnel provides a safer alternative to the 13,000 ft high Rohtang Pass and is the world’s highest tunnel above 10,000 ft. The Nimmu-Padum-Darcha highway will be safer than the Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh highways as it does not pass near either the India-China or India-Pakistan borders. At present, people have to travel 101km from Manali to Darcha on Leh Road and then enter the Zanskar Valley through Shinku-La Pass.

This tunnel is aimed to boost commerce the Zanskar Valley by bringing better connectivity.

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