KOCHI: The roads in the state will now be on a different level. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has announced Rs 50,000 crore for the development of national highways. The center is spending money on 31 new roads with a length of 896 km. The minister announced this while participating online in the Invest Kerala Global Summit organized by the state government.

The work to make Kozhikode-Palakkad National Highway into a four-lane will begin within three months. The expense estimated is Rs 10,814 crore. Rs 5,000 crore has been granted for the outer ring road in the capital city. The minister said tourism is the heart of Kerala and that many people, including from abroad, are coming to rich Ayurveda areas in Kerala and road development is essential for basic sector development.

The National Highway 966 four-laning project will cover a distance of 120 km in Malappuram, Kozhikode and Palakkad. This project is intended to connect North Kerala with Coimbatore.

A project to make the Angamaly-Kundannur Ernakulam bypass six-laned at a cost of Rs 6,500 crore will be launched soon. Work on this will begin within six months. Work on the Thiruvananthapuram Outer Ring Road, the main road to the Vizhinjam International Port, will begin within four to five months.

There is also a central project in Kollam. The main road connecting Kollam with Shencottah, Tirunelveli and Thenkasi in Tamil Nadu is 38.6 km long. A project of Rs 300 crore has been announced for this.