Srinagar: India's Jammu and Kashmir is all set to get two big projects inaugurated at the very beginning of 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the key infrastructure Z Morh Tunnel on Monday (Jan 13). Also slated for later this month is the rail connectivity project where Kashmir will be connected to the rest of the country via railways for the first time ever.
The Z-Morh tunnel will be thrown open to the public on January 13 and with its opening, it will ensure all-year connectivity between Kashmir and Sonamarg. The 6.5-kilometere-long tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh highway in Gagangir area of Ganderbal district has been built at a cost of Rs 24 billion.
The Z-morh tunnel has been made in an avalanche-prone area that had made the road to Sonamarg inaccessible during snowfall and extreme winters. The tunnel is very important for tourism in the region as Sonamarg used to be cut off during heavy snowfall in the area.
The tunnel is also of strategic importance to the defence forces and will improve the access between Srinagar to Sonamarg and later to Ladakh when the Zojila tunnel is opened. 
Located at an altitude of over 8,500 feet, this stretch of road is particularly vulnerable to winter weather conditions and this tunnel will help to tackle those challenges.
The tunnel work was started by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in 2012, with the project being awarded to Tunnelways Limited. However, it was later taken over by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), which re-issued the tender for the project.

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The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah in a post on X said Jammu and Kashmir is awaiting the inauguration of the crucial infrastructure project in the coming days. He said the asset would prove to be a gamechanger for the expansion of winter tourism in the valley. "Jammu and Kashmir, particularly central Kashmir, is awaiting the inauguration of a crucial piece of infrastructure in the coming days. The asset will prove to be a game changer for the expansion of winter tourism in the valley," he said.
The hoteliers of the Sonamarg area are eagerly waiting for the tunnel to open as the winters are here and it will be much easier for the tourists to reach Sonamarg through this tunnel.