Work on the Edappally flyover will begin in four months, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said. All the paper work would be ready in two weeks’ time.
The State government would formulate a special package to overcome hurdles in acquiring land for infrastructure projects, Mr. Chandy said.
The package will include relaxing of building rules for those who surrender land free of cost. Augmenting basic infrastructure like roads was key to economic development and job creation, he said. He was speaking after inaugurating the four-laning of the Seaport-Airport Road and laying the foundation stone for RBDCK’s mall at Kakkanad here on Thursday.
Mr. Chandy said land acquisition to develop the Thammanam-Pullepady Road as a four-lane one was expected to cost Rs.200 crore. The road widening project would cost Rs.14 crore. Similarly, the land acquisition for a new road linking NH Bypass with Airport-Seaport Road would cost Rs.275 crore. The project cost would be Rs.50 crore.
Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju said the PWD would spent Rs.938 crore to augment roads and bridges in Ernakulam district. The proposals include a Rs.212-crore four-laning of the Seaport-Airport Road. Land acquisition had been completed for extending the road from HMT Junction to NAD Road, as part of its airport extension. Union Minister of State K.V. Thomas called for measures to build new roads and bridges, without collecting toll from motorists.
Later in the day, Mr. Chandy laid the foundation stone for two bridges as part of extending the road up to the airport at a cost of Rs.660 crore. The two bridge projects are expected to cost Rs.49 crore.
Steps are also being taken to top the HMT Junction-Manalimukku stretch of Airport-Seaport Road with concrete.
