THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a clutch of key projects in the capital city after the flagging-off ceremony of the Vande Bharat Express train on April 25.
He will lay the foundation stone of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and open the 16.3-kilometre Mukkola-Karode stretch of NH66, the first concrete highway in the state.
The PM will also lay the foundation stone for the proposed Digital Science Park at Technopark Phase IV.
Though there were reports that Modi would launch the Enchakkal flyover and Thiruvallam service bridge, these are not included in the projects list.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)’s regional office received approval from its headquarters on Saturday regarding the ORR (NH 866) and NH66 projects.
Sources close to the NHAI said that both functions would be held along with the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Digital Science Park. The PM is in the capital city for the flagging-off ceremony of the Vande Bharat Express train at Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station.
Project updates
The proposed 77-kilometre ORR will start from Vizhinjam and end at Navaikulam, near the Kollam border. “The survey of the ORR project has been completed. The project’s tender is expected to open by April end, and the construction is likely to commence in June,” said P Pradeep, the project director of NHAI. Earlier, the Revenue Department had constituted a special team for the speedy implementation of the project.
Issuing an order on government approval for land acquisition in April last year, the Department set up a team of 12 officials, led by a special deputy collector, to ensure the smooth acquisition of about 1,500 acres for the project under the Centre’s Bharatmala Pariyojana scheme.
The ORR project got the Union government’s in-principle approval in 2019. As per the plan, the six-lane road will be 70 metres wide and have 10-metre-wide service lanes. The project will be implemented in two phases.Regarding the Mukkola-Karode project, “the work at Vlathankara, which was the only one pending, is in the final stage. The laying of concrete is being done, and it will be completed within a week. Earlier, the work was hampered on account of the summer rain. However, the road will be opened on April 25,” Pradeep said.
Though the work of Mukkola-Karode NH 66 began in 2016, the NHAI had to push the deadline multiple times. The project faced several setbacks, including the unavailability of red sand, pandemic restrictions, local opposition, and the monsoon.
Digital Science Park