KOCHI: The work on the Seaport-Airport Road’s remaining stretch, from Kalamassery to Nedumbassery through the HMT and NAD campus, is set to resume soon, with the land acquisition process gaining momentum.
The 25.7-km Seaport-Airport Road project, from Irumpanam to Kochi airport, was commissioned nearly two decades ago. The Roads and Bridges Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), which is in charge of the project, had split into three parts. Of this, 11.3km (Irumpanam-Kalamassery) was completed in 2003 while work on the remaining 14.3km stretch came to a deadlock following delay in land acquisition.
A PWD official said a meeting with the land transfer board of the Naval Armament Depot (NAD) functioning in Aluva under the defence ministry will be held on Monday regarding land allotment. “If we can reach a favourable decision, the Ministry of Defence will soon hand over five acres of land owned by NAD to the state government to take the project forward,” an official said.
“The revenue department, Southern Naval Command and NAD have been working in close coordination. RBDCK is in constant touch with the district administration to acquire land for the NAD-Mahilalayam stretch. Once it is done, majority of the work can be completed in three months,” said RBDCK MD S Suhas.
A team led by him visited the Kalamassery-HMT area on Wednesday and evaluated the follow-up measures to speed up the project’s implementation.