Seaport-Airport Road phase one extension likely to be over by August next year.

The 2.70-km-long HMT-Naval Armament Depot stretch of Seaport-Airport Road is expected to be ready by August 2015, with the State government allotting Rs. 136 crore for the road's extension from HMT up to international airport.

'Of this, approximately Rs.100 crore will be handed over to land owners this month, while the balance will be used for road construction,' said Managing Director of Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), A.P. M Mohammed Hanish.

Though the tentative deadline to complete the Rs. 662-crore works, including Rs. 400 crore for land acquisition, of the road's 14-km-long airport extension is mid-2016, everything depends on availability of funds. Once completed, the road that begins from Karingachira in Tripunithura will run parallel to Aroor-Edappally NH 47 Bypass and NH 47, up to airport. This will considerably decongest the two NH corridors where passenger vehicles vie for space with goods carriers. Mr. Hanish said two bridges that were being built over Periyar River would be completed in another four months. 'Land acquisition is awaited on the NAD-Periyar stretch and in the reach beyond the river up to the airport.' The HMT-NAD stretch is the project’s phase one, while NAD-Asokapuram-Mahilalayam stretch is phase 1-A, the two bridges phase 1-B and Chowara-airport reach is phase two.


THE HINDU