In a significant boost to tourism and other economic activities in the region, the Cabinet has approved the construction of 4.1-km-long Shinku La Tunnel at an estimated cost of Rs 1,681 crore to provide all-weather connectivity in Ladakh.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will construct the world’s highest tunnel at 16,580 feet.
The tunnel will be completed by December 2025 and an approach will also be built by December 2025, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur after the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security.
The tunnel is expected to change the economy of Zanskar Valley once operational.
Giving details, Thakur said, “The Shinku La tunnel will provide all-weather road connectivity to the Ladakh region with the entire country and this will be the shortest route to the border areas of the Union Territory.”
The Shinku-la that connects Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul valley with the Zanskar valley in the Union Territory of Ladakh takes the route across Darcha-Shinkula-Padum-Nimu and is an alternative that connects Leh Ladakh with the state of Himachal Pradesh.
“This is also very important as far as the security and safety of the country is concerned. It will also help in the movement of our security forces in that region,” Thakur said.
It is the third highway connecting Ladakh with the mainland, the other two being the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh and Manali-Sarchu-Leh highways.
The major advantage of the ongoing work on the Darcha-Padum-Nimu Road will be that it will be an all-weather route once the Shinku-la tunnel work is completed and will facilitate the army and civilian movements even in winter months.