The Zoji La tunnel project was approved by the Government of India in January 2018 and the commencement of its construction was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2018. The 14 km long tunnel will reduce the time to cross the Zoji La from more than 3 hours to just 15 minutes. The initial cost of the tunnel is US$. When completed, it will be the longest bidirectional tunnel in Asia.