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The long-pending 2.7 km HMT NAD stretch of the Seaport Airport Road in Kochi is set to see construction begin next month after more than 20 years of delay. The Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK) has reissued tenders and expects to award contracts shortly. The state government has completed land acquisition from HMT and the Naval Armament Depot by allocating over INR 60 crore. Once finished, the stretch will close a key gap in the 25.7 km corridor and improve airport and industrial connectivity.
Construction on the 2.7 kilometre stretch between HMT and the Naval Armament Depot (NAD) on Kochi's Seaport Airport Road is expected to begin next month, marking the revival of a segment that remained stalled for over 20 years. The Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala (RBDCK), which is executing the project, has reissued tenders and plans to finalise the contract award by early March. Advertisement
The Seaport Airport Road was planned as a 25.7 km arterial corridor connecting Irumpanam in the south to the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery. The first phase, covering 11.3 km from Irumpanam to Kalamassery, was completed and opened in 2003. However, the remaining stretch, especially the HMT NAD portion, could not move forward due to prolonged land acquisition issues involving HMT and defence authorities.
The delay was mainly linked to the transfer of land required for widening and alignment. The state government has now completed the acquisition process. It allocated INR 37.9 crore for acquiring 1.4 hectares of land from HMT and INR 23.11 crore for 2.5 hectares from the Naval Armament Depot. Additional provisions have also been made for related works, including road development and security arrangements in the defence area.
An RBDCK official stated that preliminary site-level procedures are progressing and tree-cutting permissions are under process. Once these formalities are cleared, full-scale construction activity will begin. Authorities expect the work to move without further legal or administrative hurdles, as the key land-related issues have been resolved.
Industries Minister P Rajeeve recently inspected the project site and stated that earlier delays were largely due to failure in completing land acquisition in the past. He said that the present government ensured transfer of the required land, enabling the long-pending section to move forward.
Completion of this link is expected to ease traffic congestion along the Edappally Kalamassery stretch and reduce pressure on NH-544. The corridor is considered important for improving direct connectivity between the port region, industrial clusters, and the airport. It will also benefit daily commuters by offering a continuous east-west link across the city without heavy dependence on the national highway network.
With the contract award expected soon, the focus now shifts to timely execution, as this 2.7 km stretch is one of the last missing links in the larger Seaport Airport Road project.
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