The six-laning of the National Highway 66 has cleared yet another hurdle with the Standing Financing Committee of MoRTH clearing the first 39-km corridor from Thalapady to Chengala in Kasargod.
Once the MoRTH issues the order, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) can open tenders and the formalities can be completed to award the work.
The corridor had been awaiting the approval of the committee for the last six months.
The six-lane corridor from the Kerala-Karnataka border, with an RoW of 45 m and estimated to cost ₹1,968.84 crore, will be completed in two-and-a-half years, Chief Minsiter, Pinarayi Vijayan told a press conference on Tuesday.
To be taken up under MoRTH’s Bharatmala Pariyojana project, hybrid annuity mode will be adopted for executing the works. As much as 35.66 hectares of land will have to be acquired at an estimated cost of ₹683.09 crore. The State will meent 25% cost of the land acqusition for the corridor, Mr. Vijayan said.
He lauded the support extended by Nitin Gadhkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, to the State government to expedite the NH development in the State.