Construction completes on world's highest tunnel

After seven years of construction, work on the world's longest high-altitude road tunnel was completed on Wednesday in the Tibet autonomous region.

Connecting Dechen township of Dagze district of Lhasa, and Samye township of Zhanang county in the region's Lhokha city, the Gokarla Tunnel is a key section of the Lhasa-Tsethang Highway. The highway is one of the important measures in creating a one-hour economic circle in the central part of the region, according to China Communications Construction Company, which built the project.

The altitudes at the entrances of the tunnel are 4,248 meters and 4,117 meters above sea level. With one lane of the tunnel stretching 12,790 meters and the other 12,780 meters, the tunnel has been hailed as the world's longest at such an altitude, according to the company.