Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod coastal highway work in progress in Ernakulam; no decision yet on underwater tunnel suggestion

KOCHI

A decision is awaited on an underwater tunnel that was mooted to link Vypeen and Fort Kochi, even as the laying of boundary stones is in progress in Ernakulam district for the ₹6,000-crore Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod coastal highway.

The underwater tunnel beneath the sea that is estimated to cost approximately ₹1,500 crore was mooted to ensure seamless connectivity of the proposed highway, since the busy Vypeen-Fort Kochi corridor through which the highway would pass is now connected by a pair of ro-ro ferries that transport commuters and vehicles.

The Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) that is implementing the highway project has laid boundary stones along 21 km in Ernakulam/West Kochi for the coastal highway, while stone laying is in progress on the 27-km Vypeen-Munambam corridor. Household survey and social-impact assessment (SIA) were under way, while L&T did a preliminary environment-impact assessment (EIA), official sources said.

The Revenue department is expected to carry out the land acquisition process once the SIA is completed, for which Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) funds are available. The alignment of the proposed brownfield highway passes through the western side of the narrow and accident-prone Vypeen-Munambam highway. The Pandikudy-Chellanam Road and the parallel road on the Vypeen-Pallipuram stretch will be developed or widened as part of the coastal highway project.

There is need for clarity on the two-km-long underwater tunnel linking Vypeen and Fort Kochi that was mooted in 2015 by Jose Paul, former acting chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mumbai, who also served as Chairman of Mormugao Port Trust, soon after the Fort Kochi boat accident that claimed the lives of 11 passengers. He had suggested that the tunnel that could be built approximately 35-m below the seabed take off around 800-m from the shore on either side.

A 5.4-km undersea tunnel at Istanbul in Turkey that connected Europe and Asia, and a 10.8-km East West Metro Tunnel under the Hoogly river for Kolkata Metro are among the recent such constructions.