The Border Roads Organisation has awarded the EUR250 million contract to build the 8.8 km-long Rohtang Pass Highway Tunnel to the JV Strabag AG (Austria)/Afcons (India). At 3,980 m, Rohtang Pass, in the western Himalaya region of northern India, is one of the highest navigable mountain passes in the world. The Leh-Manali Highway, the only road connection to the northern border of Himachal Pradesh province, leads over Rohtang Pass. The heavy winter snowfalls and storms in the region mean the communities north of the pass are cut off for 4-6 months when the road is closed. The construction of the Rohtang tunnel, at approximately 3,100 m above sea level, will make the Leh-Manali Highway passable year-round and will contribute significantly to the economic development of the northern border region.Special challenges in building the tunnel include the elevation, the extreme climate and the geologic conditions. The rock at the site consists mainly of slate and migmatite, with three potential fault zones and squeezing rock, making NATM the method of choice.The horseshoe-shaped tunnel will be 10 m wide, to accommodate an 8 m-wide two-lane roadway plus a 1 m-wide walkway on each side. A 2.25 m-high and 3.6 m-wide escape tunnel will be integrated underneath the main roadway in the tunnel cross section. In all, the works will involve moving more than 800,000 cu m of rock. Tunnelling will begin in Spring, 2010 and will proceed from both portals. As the northern portal will not be accessible during the winter months, the main tunnelling works will be focused at the southern end. With a planned construction time of about 5.5 years, the tunnel should be completed by end-2015. Visit http://bro.nic.in, www.strabag.com and www.afcons.com. 43/09.