Shinku-La Tunnel or Shinkula Tunnel or Shingo-La Tunnel or Shinkun La is upcoming motorable tunnel under 16,580ft high Shinku-la pass between Himachal’s Lahaul valley and Ladakh’s Zanskar valley in Northern India. The tunnel was given principal approval in 2021 but the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (February 15, 2023) gave a final nod to the project. After budget allocation and floating tenders, the work to dig the tunnel started in July 2024. Ministry of Defence through Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is building Darcha-Shinkula-Padum-Nimu as an alternative road to connect Ladakh with Himachal Pradesh. This will be the third highway connecting Ladakh with mainland after Srinagar-Kargil-Leh and Manali-Sarchu-Leh highways. The Manali-Padum-Nimu road or Darcha-Padum-Nimu road will become all-weather after the completion of the Shinku-la tunnel. This will be the safest and shortest road to reach Leh. As Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, has bypassed 13,050ft high Rohtang pass, Shinkula pass will be the only pass on this new road. Unlike Manali-Sarchu-Leh highway which has many mountain passes, the Darcha-Padum-Nimu road has only one pass -- Shinkula pass. The Defence Ministry is concentrating more on this new road as it will facilitate in military movement even in winter months. Otherwise, both Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh highways get blocked following heavy snowfall for five to seven months a year. Currently, 10.02 km long Atal tunnel is the world’s longest highway tunnel above 10,000ft. After completion, Shinku-la tunnel will be the longest high altitude highway tunnel in the world above 15,000 ft. The work on the 4.1-km-long Shinku-la tunnel was expected to start in 2021, then 2022 but it started on July 26, 2024. (Please note that as of May 19, 2021, MoD has rejected the proposal of 13.5 km long tunnel from Patseo and given nod to 4.1 KM long Shinku-la
Shinku-La Tunnel or Shinkula Tunnel or Shingo-La Tunnel or Shinkun La is upcoming motorable tunnel under 16,580ft high Shinku-la pass between Himachal’s Lahaul valley and Ladakh’s Zanskar valley in Northern India. The tunnel was given principal approval in 2021 but the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (February 15, 2023) gave
World’s longest highway tunnel above 16,000ft beneath 16,580ft high Shinku-la pass will be ready by 2025 that will provide Zanskar valley of Ladakh an all-weather connectivity, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) chief Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry said at Shinkula top. After attending the Golden Handshake Ceremony on occasion of opening of Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road amidst fresh snowfall, and in the middle of 5 to 6ft high walls of snow, the director general border roads (DGBR) Chaudhary said this new road, which has now opened for traffic movement, will be officially opened for all kinds of vehicles as widening and blacktopping of the highway will be completed in three years along with completion of the 4.25 km-long Shinkula tunnel. He said formation cutting of the remaining stretch between Padum and Nimmu in Ladakh will also be completed soon. He said a new Road Construction Company (RCC) will be established in the area. Chaudhary was quoted as saying: “The Shinkula pass tunnel will be 4.25 kilometer in length at altitude of about 16,000 foot. It will be the highest and longest tunnel at this altitude in the entire world. He said work on construction of the tunnel will start in July or August this year. The exercise to build the Nimmu-Darcha road had started 20 years back but the work faced many technical glitches. This new road is going to prove boon not only to the army but also it will bring positive revolution in the Zanskar valley of Ladakh.” He said it used to take many days to travel from Zanskar to Himachal in the past but now the travel time has been reduced to only a few hours. He said the travel time will further be reduced after widening and blacktopping of the highway. DGBR said the Yojak Project of BRO, which
World’s longest highway tunnel above 16,000ft beneath 16,580ft high Shinku-la pass will be ready by 2025 that will provide Zanskar valley of Ladakh an all-weather connectivity, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) chief Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry said at Shinkula top. After attending the Golden Handshake Ceremony on occasion of opening of Nimmu-Padum-Darcha road amidst fresh snowfall,
