Sonamarg, Jan 8: The 6.5-km long vital Z-Morh Tunnel being constructed near Gagangir area in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway will be inaugurated next week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said Wednesday.
Although the final dates for the inauguration have not yet been officially announced, the PM is likely to inaugurate the tunnel next week on January 13 or 14, for which the preparations have already begun.
The administration has already begun preparing for the PM’s visit, with top officials of the civil and Police administration visiting the Z-Morh tunnel site to review preparedness.
Official sources said that Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vidhi Kumar Birdi, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Central Kashmir Range (CKR), Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ganderbal, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ganderbal besides officials of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) and APCO construction company visited the tunnel site to review the preparedness ahead of the PM’s visit.
Once open, the Z-Morh Tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Sonamarg, a tourist destination in Ganderbal district.
The Z-Morh Tunnel is a bi-directional tunnel along with an escape tunnel for any eventuality.
The tunnel along with a 5-km approach road is a project worth Rs 2400 crore.
The work on the Z-Morh Tunnel was halted for two years between 2017 and 2019 due to the financial crunch faced by the then main executing agency Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) who later abandoned the work.
The government had to invite bids for the second time for the project on June 24, 2019, with a TPC of Rs 2378.76 crore on Build Operate Transfer (BOT) annuity basis.
The government later awarded the Z-Morh Tunnel to APCO Amarnathji Tunnelway Pvt Ltd to be built at a cost of Rs 2379 crore.
