KOCHI: In what could potentially bring a major facelift to the underdeveloped parts of the city, the state cabinet on Wednesday gave in-principle approval for ‘Sustainable City Reconstruction Project’, a project that aims to develop the city in a scientific manner.
Under the project, areas such as Thanthonni Thuruthu, Vaduthala, Mulavukad and Mangalavanam bird sanctuary will get a major makeover. The estimated project cost is around `5,312 crore. In the initial phase, 42.9 hectares of land will be developed.
“Development is yet to happen in areas such as Mulavukad, Thanthonni Thuruthu, Vaduthala and some other areas located in the heart of the city. The development that has taken place in the city is yet to reach these pockets. So the government decided to expand the project to develop such areas.
As part of this, the Sustainable City Reconstruction Project has been planned. It will help explore tourism potential of the city,” said Mayor M Anilkumar, who attended a meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan a few months ago. The Mayor said development in the selected areas will be taken up based on environmental factors.
“Since the areas come under CRZ norms, development projects will be considered based on environmental factors. More planning and discussions will be held in the coming days,” said the Mayor. A special purpose vehicle will be constituted for the timely completion of the project.
Besides constituting a general body and project implementation committee for coordinating activities till the submission of the detailed project report, a chief executive officer will also be appointed. The general consultancy wing of KIIFB will be appointed as consultants for the project.