The airport extension of Seaport-Airport Road has got impetus with the Naval Armament Depot (NAD) deciding to hand over 2.50 hectares, Minister for Industries P. Rajeeve said on Thursday.
Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) would hand over ₹23.06 crore to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the cost of acquiring land, whose handing over was being awaited for two decades. RBDCK would also rebuild the HMT-NAD Road at a width of 5.50 metres, according to the agreement with NAD. The State government was in constant touch with the MoD, seeking speedy handing over of the land, he added.
A board of officials will shortly be constituted to measure the land needed for the airport extension and to speed up follow-up work. Utility posts and transformers on the stretch will be relocated, while traffic signal islands will be set up. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) had recently sanctioned ₹722 crore for developing the NAD-Mahilalayam stretch of the airport extension. Steps have been taken to speed up acquisition of land owned by HMT by seeking the Supreme Court’s permission to deposit ₹16.35 crore in bank.
The four-laning of the Bharata Mata College-Irumpanam reach of Seaport-Airport Road too was being pursued, the Minister said.