THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The proposed four-laning of the Vazhayila-Nedumangad stretch, part of the Thiruvananthapuram-Tenkasi interstate highway, has moved a step forward with the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) allotting a fund of Rs 117 crore for the project. The sanctioned fund will be used for the land acquisition of the first reach of the stretch from Vazhayila to Ettamkallu.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB), which is the executing agency of the 11.3km-long road development project, will re-issue the tender for the construction of the Karakulam bridge, which is the only bridge on the stretch.
Though the agency had floated a tender in April, only one bidder participated and hence, it was declared invalid. Subsequently, the tender was re-issued on June 22, but no one participated. The agency will fix the date for the next re-tender soon.
Welcoming the fund grant from the KIIFB, a top official of the KRFB said, “We are in the process of calling a tender again for the Karakulam bridge. It will not be delayed since we need to start the construction of the bridge within two months at the very least. The date for the same will be fixed soon. If there is only one bidder when the next tender is called, we will accept it and go ahead with further proceedings.”
Once the tender is opened, there will be a technical and financial evaluation of the bid before it is finalised. The KIIFB had already allotted a fund of Rs 4 crore for the bridge. The tender for the main carriageway would only be called after the completion of the land acquisition proceedings.
The widening of the main carriageway will be done by dividing the stretch into three reaches. The tender will be called for each reach separately to fasten the project’s execution. The survey proceedings for the third phase of the stretch are progressing as of now.
The widening of the road at Vazhayila and Pazhakutty has been a long-pending demand, as this stretch will give good connectivity from the state capital to Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, thereby connecting to NH 44, which is the north-south corridor.
The 11(1) notification (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act) for the reach and hearing with the landowners were completed earlier. The land will be acquired based on the LARR rules of 2013. The government had sanctioned Rs 338.53 crore for the project, of which Rs 279.31 crore will be spent on road work and Rs 59.22 crore on land acquisition.