The Genting Sempah Tunnel is the first highway tunnel in Malaysia. Located on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway, the 900-metre tunnel connects Hulu Gombak in Selangor

Selangor

Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...

 to Genting Sempah

Genting Sempah

Genting Sempah or Sempah Pass is a transit town and also a mountain pass on the border of Pahang and Selangor in Malaysia. Genting Sempah is mostly known as a transit point to Genting Highlands....

, Pahang

Pahang

Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...

. This tunnel was constructed between 1977 and 1979. The tunnel was officially opened in 1979 by the former Minister of Works and Communications, Dato Abdul Ghani Gilong.

The tunnel was once used to be the longest road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

 tunnel in Malaysia before the construction of the 4-km SMART Tunnel

SMART Tunnel

The "Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel" or "SMART Tunnel", is a storm drainage and road structure in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a major national project in the country...

 which was opened in 2007.

Originally, the Genting Sempah Tunnel was used to be a 2-lane single-carriageway tunnel but then an additional tunnel for the eastbound traffic was constructed between 1995 to 1997 when the Karak Expressway was upgraded from a 2-lane highway

Two-lane freeway

A two-lane expressway is an expressway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes rise. The term super two is often used by roadgeeks for this type of road, but traffic...

 to a high-speed multi-lane expressway

Controlled-access highway

A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...

.