Decks clear for twin highway projects

Injecting a major booster to the country’s road and highway sector, the government recently gave in-principle nod to two ambitious road infrastructure projects – Coastal Highway and Hill Highway, entailing an investment of Rs.10,000 crore. It may be recalled that the government had already notified the alignment of the proposed 656.5 km Coastal Highway that will traverse through nine districts of the State. Prepared by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (Natpac), the Rs.6,500 crore Coastal Highway is aimed at improving the road connectivity of the coastal belt. The coastal highway will start from Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram and end at Kunjathoor, near Thalapady, in Kasaragod and will traverse through Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulum, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Kannur districts. The 1,267 km Hill Highway has been proposed from Nandarapppadavu in Kasaragod district to Kadukkara, near Parasala, in Thiruvananthapuram district. The proposed corridor will traverse through 13 districts of the State and cost Rs.3,500 crore. Natpac has already finalised the alignment for the Hill Highway and prepared the DPR for 43 km in Kannur and Kasaragod districts. KIIFB is to rope in non-resident Keralites for the Pravasi Chitty of the KSFE to mobilise funds for twin road infra projects.