Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways had inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for eight national highway projects in Kerala. The Minister dedicated to the nation, a four-lane Thiruvananthapuram Bypass from Kazhakuttom to Mukkola with a road length of 27 km entailing an investment of Rs 1,120.86 crore.
Apart from this, the foundation stone was laid for seven projects entailing a total investment of Rs 11,571.23 crore. These included six-laning of Thalapady to Changala with a road length of 39 km entailing an investment of Rs 1,981.07 crore, six-laning of Changala to Neleshwaram, six-laning of Neleshwaram town to Thalipparamba with a total cost of Rs 3,041.65 crore with a road length of 40.11 km.
The remaining road projects include six-laning of Neleshwaram town to Thalipparamba entailing an investment of Rs 210.21 crore with a road length of 2.1 km, six-laning of Kozhikode Bypass worth Rs 1,853.42 crore with a road length of 28.4 km and construction of a high-level bridge over Cheruthoni River worth Rs 23.83 crore and a road length of 0.30 km.
A total of 35,000 km national highways are being developed as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana in the country. Out of these, 1,234 km are being developed in Kerala. In addition, 119 km port connectivity roads are planned to upgrade under Bharatmala/Sagarmala scheme. The Mumbai-Kanyakumari Economic Corridor with a length of 1,760 km is one such corridor being developed as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana. As part of the Mumbai-Kanyakumari Economic Corridor, 23 projects with a length of 650 km are being developed at an investment of Rs 50,000 crore. The works have been sanctioned and construction is being initiated in another seven projects of length 177 km at an investment of Rs 11,571 crore. Works costing Rs 19,800 crore are targeted for completion by 2024, while 30 projects of an aggregate length of 549 km for an amount of Rs 5,327 crore are under implementation, add reports.