Projs worth Rs 50,000 cr being developed in Kerala as part of Mumbai-Kanyakumari corridor: Gadkari

Highway projects worth Rs 50,000 crore are being developed in Kerala as part of Mumbai-Kanyakumari ecomic corridor under Bharatmala Pariyojana, Union minister Nitin Gkari said on Tuesday.He was speaking at a virtual ceremony for laying of foundation stones for seven highway projects worth Rs 11,571 crore for Kerala and inauguration of a 27-kilometre highway project from Kazhakoottam to Mukkola, built at a cost of Rs 1,121 crore.

Ro Transport, Highways and MSMEs minister said that in line with Prime Minister's vision for a New India, development of world-class transport infrastructure has been prioritised through initiatives such as Bharatmala Pariyojana, country's largest ever infrastructure development programme.

In dition, re are plans to upgre 119 kilometres of port connectivity ros under Bharatmala/ Sagarmala Scheme, he said.

Flagship corridors such as Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Delhi-Amritsar Katra Expressway, Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway are also being developed as part of Bharatmala Pariyojana, Ministry of Ro Transport and Highways said in a statement.Mumbai–Kanyakumari Ecomic Corridor with a length of 1,760 kilometres is one such corridor being developed as a part of Bharatmala Pariyojana,he said.

He ted that corridor improving connectivity to entire western coast of country from Mumbai till Kanyakumari will greatly enable ecomic prosperity of region.

As a part of Mumbai–Kanyakumari Ecomic Corridor, 23 projects with a length of 650 kilometres are being developed in state of Kerala at an investment of Rs 50,000 crore,  minister said.

He also said that corridor traversing entire length of Kerala from rth to South is expected to be lifeline of Kerala. corridor improves connectivity to major cities/ towns such as Kasargod, Thalassery, Kannur, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kochi, Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.According to minister, works have been sanctioned and construction is being initiated in ar seven projects of length 177 kilometres at an investment of Rs 11,571 crore.

It includes construction of high level bridge at Cheruthoni River, which was damd/ approaches completely washed off due to natural calamities during southwest monsoon season during June 1 to August 19 ,2018.

He said government is committed to ensure expedited completion of se projects to enable ecomic prosperity of state and that projects will change face of Kerala.

Bharatmala Pariyojana was conceptualised through a scientific study of freight traffic movement between key origin-destination pairs to enable efficient freight and passenger movement.

Gkari said that 35,000 kilometres of national highways are being developed as a part of it in country and out of this, 1,234 kilometres are being developed in Kerala.

Presently, he said that Kerala has national highways of 1,782-kilometre length and 488-kilometre length of national highways have been constructed during 2014-20 period, which is an increase of 569 per cent over 2009-14 period. expenditure on construction of national highway from 2014-2020 is Rs 3,820 crore while ar Rs 671 crore was spent on maintenance of national highways in State.

Gkari also said that works costing Rs 19,800 crore are targeted for completion by 2024 while 30 projects of an aggregate length of 549 kilometres for an amount of Rs 5,327 crore are under implementation.

He asked Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan to consider PPP (Public Private Partnership) model for ro development which will bring more capital in building infrastructure.Mentioning about very high land acquisition cost for ros in Kerala, Gkari called for making aggregates and sand royalty free and for exempting or ro materials like iron/ steel, cement from state GST that will be very helpful to Kerala for reducing cost of ro construction.

Gkari also invited chief minister for a detailed discussion on se issues.Furr, Gkari asked state to identify black spots on highways and offered help in rectifying same. He reiterated that safer ros are important to reduce accidents and save lives.

Minister of State for Ro Transport and Highways V K Singh said Mumbai-Kanyakumari project will improve connectivity to some of major cities like Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Kollam.

Kerala Goverr Arif Mohammed Khan complemented central government for fulfilling aspirations of people of state. 

(IM CREDITS:PTI)