KOCHI: Kerala is all set to witness an infrastructure boom in the next few years as the state government has decided to give a thrust to Rs 6500 crore major coastal highway project connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod.
The current LDF government is in a mission mode to complete at least 75 per cent of the project during its present tenure highlighting how the project will positively impact the lives of the people in the coastal districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasaragod.
The proposed highway will result in 50 per cent of the state’s vehicular traffic shifting from the present NH-17 and NH – 47 which are already clogged.
The 623-km long coastal highway project will redefine development along the highway in each coastal district.
Industry experts are anticipating major investments from real estate companies and other infrastructure verticals once the works on the highway project begins. As per official reports, the government has started preliminary land acquisition procedures by starting demarcation of land required for the project.
The highway with a width of 14 metre will start from Pozhiyoor in Thiruvananthapuram and ends at Kunjathoor near Thalapady in Kasaragod. While Kerala Road Fund Board project management (KRFB-PMU) will undertake construction of 468 km, the remaining work will be carried out by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Bharat Mala Pariyojana Scheme.
Though there will be restrictions on major infrastructure constructions along the highway due to coastal regulation zone rules, the government will chart out a development scheme in sync with coastal and environmental protection.
The Coastal Area Development Authority (CADA) has been entrusted with the task to finalise resettlement and rehabilitation packages for those who have to part with their land for the project. The alignment for the project, which was prepared by National Transportation Planning and Research Centre in 2017, had already received the government’s approval.
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