The Kerala coastal highway project faces fresh uncertainty after the state government’s review of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) raised questions over whether new projects should be taken up through the agency in its current form. The proposed road was intended to ease congestion on the Vypin state highway and is part of a planned 625-kilometre corridor from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod.
The coastal highway was announced as a KIIFB project with an estimated cost of Rs 6,500 crore. The change in government and the decision to reassess KIIFB projects have placed the Vypin section, which remains at a preliminary stage, under renewed scrutiny. The Chief Minister has said that a committee appointed to study KIIFB-related issues submitted recommendations for restructuring the agency and that one recommendation was not to take up new projects.
The proposed alignment had already moved beyond the planning stage in parts of Ernakulam district. An alignment was fixed in 2016, after which pink survey markers were installed in Vypin. A preliminary notification for land acquisition was issued on August 18, 2025. Fresh markers have since been placed with minor changes because several earlier markers had disappeared and adjustments were made following digital surveys.
Survey work for the final land-acquisition notification was being carried out under the special tahsildar appointed for KIIFB-related acquisitions. In Ernakulam district, the project would require 54.8 hectares across six panchayats in Vypinkara, Kochi Corporation, Chellanam and Kumbalangi. The acquisition covers 2,898 plots, including about 2,600 houses and 170 commercial establishments.
An authorised agency had been appointed to assess the value of buildings that would have to be removed. The assessment has been completed in some local bodies. The scale of the proposed acquisition means that any decision to change the funding arrangement or alignment could affect households that have already made plans based on the project. The report said several families had borrowed money and identified land to build new homes, expecting compensation at a suitable value.
The Ernakulam sections include 21.3 kilometres in Kochi and 26.7 kilometres in Vypin. At the northern end of Vypinkara, construction of a bridge connecting Munambam with Azhikode in Thrissur district is in its final stage. At the southern end, the planned connection between Fort Vypin and Fort Kochi still requires a crossing over the Kochi harbour. The government had announced a study of a proposed tunnel option for that connection, but the additional facility would require funding beyond the amount currently allocated for the coastal highway.
The project is also intended to provide a parallel route for Vypinkara, where congestion on the existing state highway has been a continuing concern. Tony Chammany, the MLA, said efforts would continue to secure alternative funding because a parallel road remains necessary for the region, even as opposition to KIIFB continues. The immediate next step is the government’s decision on the committee’s recommendations and whether the coastal highway can proceed through KIIFB or must be supported through another funding arrangement.
