NEW DELHI, October 12 — The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday approved a dedicated capital outlay of ₹1,681 crore to construct the 4.1-kilometer twin-tube strategic Shinku La Tunnel beneath the 15,800-foot Shinku La pass, establishing an unbroken, all-weather military logistics axis linking Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul valley with the Zanskar region of Ladakh.
Engineered by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under 'Project Yojak', the subterranean engineering structure will stand as the highest all-weather highway tunnel globally upon completion in 2027. The project encompasses 5.5 kilometers of reinforced approach roads on both the northern and southern portals, fully winterized with advanced fire-suppression systems, dynamic carbon monoxide monitoring, and automated emergency ventilation shafts.
Defense strategists emphasized that the tunnel permanently opens the alternative Nimu-Padam-Darcha (NPD) highway, establishing India's third strategic transit corridor to Leh that bypasses traditional choke points along the Zojila Pass (Srinagar-Leh) and the high Baralacha-La pass (Manali-Leh). Being insulated from visual and artillery surveillance along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Line of Control (LoC), the corridor secures unhindered round-the-year mechanized troop mobility.
Border infrastructure mechanics under the Border Roads Organisation (established in 1960 under the Ministry of Defence), high-altitude trans-Himalayan passes (Shinku La, Zojila, Rohtang, Khardung La, Shipki La), physiography of the Zanskar and Ladakh mountain ranges, and defense deterrence along the northern frontier are critical themes for UPSC Civil Services (GS-I: Geography & GS-III: Security Architecture) and military service examinations.