The government will considerably augment roads and bridges to ensure safe and fast commuting as basic infrastructure is sine qua non for development, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
Inadequacy of (budgetary) funds will be compensated by raising funds from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), he said. The Chief Minister was speaking after launching work on the construction of the ₹78.36-crore, 700-metre-long flyover at Vyttila, the biggest and most congested junction in the State.
“The PWD [NH wing] decided to execute work on the six-lane flyover despite fund paucity though the cash-rich NHAI owns the NH 66 Bypass. The structure at the junction, where NH 66 meets the Ernakulam-Ettumanur State Highway, will be ready in 18 months. The government aims to ensure modern infrastructure in keeping with the times,” Mr. Vijayan said.
Presiding over the function, Minister for Public Works G. Sudhakaran said the flyover would be built by the Thiruvananthapuram-based Sreedhanya Constructions.
The bid for the project was much less than the PWD’s estimated cost of ₹113 crore. Moreover, the government is planning to commission a study to probe the feasibility of an underpass linking SA Road and Thripunithura Road. The bid for the flyover at Kundannoor Junction will be opened shortly. There are instances where contractors who did not qualify often try to delay work by filing cases. The licences of such contractors will be cancelled, the Minister said.
“We have envisaged 107 projects including flyovers, bridges, and underpasses in the coming years. Toll will not be levied on any project. The government has already scrapped toll for nine bridges and paid ₹600 crore as compensation to various agencies,” he added.
Mr. Sudhakaran called upon contractors to use modern technology and machinery for constructing quality roads. “A ₹10-crore worth German machine procured recently by a contractor makes no noise, dust, and hassles to road users while laying roads. Civil engineers too must update their knowledge skills,” he said.
The annual allocation of funds for road infrastructure is shortly set to gallop from ₹3,000 crore to ₹10,000 crore. Efforts will be made to mobilise resources to transform Kochi into a modern, culturally-vibrant city, said Minister for Finance Thomas Isaac, who was the chief guest at the event.
He also promised to release KIIFB funds to widen the Thammanam-Pullepady Road and to extend it to MG Road and Infopark on either side, if the Kochi Corporation formally handed over the road to the PWD.
PWD Secretary Kamala Vardhana Rao also spoke.
