New Delhi: The Central Government has sanctioned ₹2,039 crore for the development of national highways in Kerala, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister P K Basheer announced. The funding has been approved for five projects scheduled for immediate implementation. The Minister shared the details with the media following a high-level meeting with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.

Providing a breakdown of the sanctioned funds, the Minister stated that ₹40 crore has been allocated for the construction of the Bairakuppa bridge connecting Kerala and Karnataka.

In addition, ₹98.40 crore has been cleared for National Highway 744, which links Kollam with Thirumangalam in Tamil Nadu, and ₹172 crore has been approved for the national highway stretching from Kozhikode to Palakkad.

Greenfield project to kick off

An agreement was reached to commence construction on the Kozhikode–Palakkad Greenfield National Highway, where land acquisition is currently in its final stages. Furthermore, ₹66 crore has been earmarked for the Thiruvananthapuram–Kazhakkoottam road. The Central Government has also agreed in principle to clear ₹1,663 crore for upgrading the stretch from Kadavoor to Chengannur–Anjilimoodu on the Kollam–Theni highway into a four-lane road.

The Union Minister has also granted in-principle approval for the construction of ropeways in Sabarimala, Munnar and Wayanad. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Sabarimala project will be prepared shortly. P K Basheer added that Gadkari assured swift approval for the widening of the Adimali–Kumily stretch on National Highway 185.

Bypass alignments and elevated highway

The alignment for the Kodungallur–Angamaly bypass will be made available soon, and the Willingdon Island–Kundannoor bypass will be linked to the Aroor–Angamaly bypass. Approval for the revised alignment of the Kothamangalam–Muvattupuzha bypasses is expected within three months.

In addition, the Union Minister has directed authorities to draft a plan for an elevated highway extending from Ramanattukara to the Kozhikode Airport.

The high-level meeting was attended by PWD Secretary Adeela Abdulla, PWD Additional Secretary V R Vinod, Chief Engineer Isaac Varghese and other senior officials from the Public Works Department.