Rs 1,200-crore plan to build flyovers

KOCHI: A preliminary document with an outlay of Rs 1,200 crore has been prepared to build four flyovers which are inevitable to make Kochi one of the most important metros in the country, Union Minister K V Thomas has said. The Minister was speaking to reporters after a discussion with the National Highways Authority of India ( NHAI) team led by its director C K Kandasamy. The document has been prepared jointly by the PWD and the NHAI.The flyovers have been proposed at Edappally, Palarivattom, Vyttila and Kundannoor. As the Metro Rail passes through Vyttila and Edappally, a special design should be developed for the two places. Plans are on to develop Kundannoor to implement a pilot project whereas in the other three places the flyovers will be built as per the existing standards of the NHAI.It is expected that around `700 crore will be available by way of Central grants. The Minister said that a decision on providing special package to Kerala and West Bengal by the Central Government will be announced soon.Thomas said that the package will give a fillip to the flyover projects in Kerala. The participation of the people will also be ensured for the proposed flyover projects. “The flyover constructions and the development of National Highways are usually carried out on a BOT-basis in other parts of the country. A huge amount is also being collected by way of toll which is not at all possible in Kerala. Hence efforts are on to materialise the project with the collaboration of the Central and the state governments, people’s representatives, local bodies and the owners of the land,” Thomas said.C T Abraham, project director, NHAI, S Babu, Executive Engineer, Ministry of Surface Transport and Joseph Mathew, Chief Engineer, Public Works (NH division) also took part in the discussion.