KOCHI: The state government on Thursday issued orders allotting Rs 32.26 crore for acquiring land, including 2.4967 hectare NAD land, for the second phase development of the Seaport-Airport Road.
It sanctioned a sum of Rs 8.16 crore for widening the NAD-Thorappu Road and Rs 99.43 lakh for the construction of boundary wall, besides the Rs 23.11 crore estimated by the Union Defence Ministry as the land price.
A pact for handing over the required land was earlier signed in January in the presence of Industries Minister P Rajeeve, and the amount was sanctioned as part of this. The sum will be handed over to the implementing agency, Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), soon.
The second phase development had been in cold storage for over two decades, with the NAD land issue turning out to be a major hurdle.“We will hasten the project implementation now. The amount will be handed over and the required NAD land will be acquired at the earliest.
We will also initiate the tendering process soon. The process to remit the cost of HMT land in a nationalised bank is also in the final stages. The flagship project is given the top priority among those being implemented in the district,” Rajeeve said.
The HMT-NAD road will be widened to 5.5 metres as part of the pact to hand over the land. The much-touted project — a 25.7km road from Irumpanam to Nedumbassery — is expected to provide easier access to the airport and is being implemented in two phases. The RBDCK completed the first phase – an 11.3km stretch from Irumpanam to Kalamassery – in 2003.