October 2012: Minister of Road Transport and Highways Mr CP Joshi along with CM Omar Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi laid the foundation stone of Z morh Tunnel
May 2015: Construction work started and APCO Infratech will build this tunnel.
July 2018: 22% work completed, but the work stalled by the civil contractor (Apco- Titan JV) due to non-payment of bills and severe financial constraints faced by the developer IL&FS Group.
October 2018: Government supersedes board of IL&FS Group in view of “financial crisis”.
March 2019: IL&FS Group requested authority NHIDCL to foreclose the contract. NHIDCL accepted the request and the process of foreclosure initiated.
Jun 2019: NHIDCL re-invited bids on DBFOT Annuity Basis for selection of a new contractor for the completion of remaining work with 1 August 2019 as the bid submission date. The revised total project cost is estimated (for balance work) at ₹2,378 crore.
August 2019: APCO Infratech wins the contract of ₹2,378 crore and will develop the tunnel (balance work) under BOT (annuity) mode. Tunnel will be built in 3.5 years with target completion by December 2023.
July 2020: Work by new contractor APCO Infratech restarted. Both end of the tunnel were through by end of June 2021.
September 2021: After inspecting the construction, the Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the tunnel will be partially opened for controlled traffic (for military and emergency services) by November 2021.
10 April 2023: Minister Nitin Gadkari, Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and Members of Parliament inspected the tunnel. The Minister said that the tunnel is planned to be commissioned by the end of 2023. The Z-Morh tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to the Sonamarg tourist town.
13 January 2025: The tunnel is inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi and put into operation.(KNT)
