PM Modi launches five projects worth ₹3,350 crore in Ladakh, including Leh airport terminal, 298-km Nimmu-Padum-Darcha Road and India's first petroglyph park

Key facts

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 15, 2026 virtually inaugurated and dedicated five major development projects worth around ₹3,350 crore in Ladakh via video conferencing.
• A new passenger terminal building at Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Leh was inaugurated at a cost of ₹640 crore; spread over 23,800 square metres, it is designed to handle 35 lakh passengers annually.
• The new Leh airport terminal incorporates geothermal energy for energy efficiency and, per the Prime Minister, is India's first terminal to feature geothermal heating alongside solar energy use.
• The 298-km Nimmu-Padum-Darcha Road, constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a cost of ₹2,500 crore, connects Nimmu in Leh with Darcha in Himachal Pradesh through the remote Zanskar Valley and cuts travel time from 12 hours to 3 hours.
• The Nimmu-Padum-Darcha Road traverses the high-altitude Shinkun La Pass and provides an alternative connectivity corridor to Ladakh, supplementing the existing Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh highways.
• The Prime Minister inaugurated the 9 MW Hanu Small Hydroelectric Project and the 66 kV Double-Circuit Dah-Hanu-Khaltsi Transmission Line to strengthen power evacuation infrastructure and electricity network reliability in Ladakh.
• India's first Petroglyph Conservation Park was inaugurated at Sindhu Ghat in Leh to protect Ladakh's prehistoric rock art, which features carvings of animals, human figures and symbolic designs.
• Forty water bodies developed across 40 villages under Project Him Sarovar were inaugurated to store water from snowmelt and glacial runoff and support irrigation during Ladakh's critical sowing season.