KOCHI: The recent caving in of a newly-laid portion of NH-66 at Malappuram and the formation of cracks at multiple sites won’t have much effect on the overall project implementation, and the works are “more or less” set to be completed by the targeted deadline of December 2025, the NHAI authorities claimed.
However, sources said the six-laning of the entire 644 km from Mukkola in Thiruvananthapuram to Thalappady in Kasaragod would suffer a slight delay of three months, mainly due to the unavailability of “red soil and other raw materials”.
“We are almost on course to meet the December 2025 deadline. The contract company, KNR Constructions Ltd, is known to implement the work fast. We are confident of meeting the deadline,” a senior NH official with the Palakkad PIU told TNIE.
This is even as the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways debarred the firm in participating in ongoing and future tenders of the Union government over the Malappuram incident that happened on May 19. A section of the elevated highway portion, constructed across the paddy fields of Kooriyad, caved in, injuring eight persons and damaging three cars.
“KNR will continue to implement this work. They are only debarred from participating in any new tendering process of the NHAI. An expert committee has already been constituted to look into the incident, and it will also suggest the rectification works. Another reason why the overall project won’t be affected is that the same is being implemented in various reaches simultaneously. The company completed 95 % of the work in the Valanchery-Ramanattukara stretch it was entrusted with,” the official said.
The NHAI authorities, meanwhile, dismissed the formation of cracks along the road stretches as a major concern. “Cracks occur due to the seeping in of the rain water, which affects the shear strength of the soil and the differential settlement. This is because fresh filling is being done in these areas. We can find all such issues during the monsoon, and the same can be rectified easily with existing technology,” the official added.
However, sources said the work may be narrowly delayed due to non-availability of red soil on stretches like Edapally-Moothakunnam. Also the work on the 12.75 km-long Thuravur-Aroor elevated highway is “slightly delayed” and the authorities are striving to meet the original deadline of January 2026 on this section.
Meanwhile, E T Mohammed Basheer, MP, who took up the Malappuram NH caving-in incident with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, refused to speculate on the NHAI meeting the target. “It all depends on the volume of work left to be completed, including the repair works on multiple stretches,” he said.
Works Minister P A Muhammed Riyas too turned down charges that the NH widening works have been hit. “We’ll go ahead, fixing all the issues. The Opposition UDF, which strived to oppose the dream NH-widening project at the start, is now striving to create hurdles by taking advantage of the situation,” he said in his social media post.
Highway push
Total NH-widening project cost
Rs 65,000 crore (sum of project cost of various reaches)
Original completion date of NH-66 widening Dec 31, 2025
Anticipated completion of full NH-66 widening March 31, 2026
Total length being widened
644 km (from Thalappady (Kasaragod) to Mukkola (Tvm)
Total number of stretches: 22
Stretches where work is in the finishing stage: 4
Average per cent of work completed: 65%
Details of the work of KNR Constructions Ltd
Project stretch: A distance of 39 km from Ramanattukara to Valanchery
Total capital cost Rs 4265.42 crore
Actual work start date 21/01/2022
Scheduled completion as per contract 19/07/2024
Percentage of work completed in the stretch 95%