Jammu, May 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be on a day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday is scheduled to lay foundation stones and inaugurate several infrastructure projects in the state. During his visit, the Prime Minister will kickstart work on prestigious Zojila tunnel. It must be noted that the tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Ladakh and the Valley, and lay foundation stones for or inaugurate other infrastructure projects.

The 14-kilometre long Zojila tunnel will be India's longest road tunnel and Asia's longest bidirectional tunnel. The construction of this tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh. The tunnel will cut down the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from the present 3.5 hours to just 15 minutes, besides making the drive much safer and convenient.

The prime minister is also expected to dedicate to the nation the 330-MW Kishenganga Power Project constructed in the Gurez area of Kashmir. The event is believed to take place at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.

According to a report by PTI, Narendra Modi will also lay the foundation stone for the Srinagar Ring Road and Jammu Ring Road at separate events at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) Srinagar and at the General Zorawar Singh Auditorium in Jammu.

PM Modi will attend the closing ceremony of the birth centenary celebration of the 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche in Leh. "The prime minister will attend the commencement of work on Zojila tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway at an event in Jive-tsal in Leh tomorrow," an official spokesman said.

Reports inform that Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will also be present at the events. To recall, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the prime minister earlier this year, had approved the construction, operation and maintenance of this two-lane bi-directional tunnel with parallel escape (Egress) tunnel between Baltal and Minamarg on the Srinagar-Leh section of the National Highway at a cost of Rs 6,800 crore.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2018 07:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).