The 18.045-km Kovalam-Akkulam stretch of the Parvathy Puthanar passing through the capital district will be cleaned, dredged, and made navigable for cruise operations from the international airport to Kovalam, the beach tourism destination.
A high-level meeting convened by V.J. Kurien, Principal Secretary, Costal Shipping and Inland Navigation, here on Thursday to work out the modalities to develop the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport as a multi-modal hub, also asked the Irrigation Department to prepare an estimate for the work and submit it next month.
Mr. Kurien told The Hindu that those who participated in the meeting were keen on developing the world-class terminal of the airport as a multi-modal hub as it had the potential to offer connectivity by water, rail, and road. “Though many hurdles have to be overcome, the focus is to make the canal navigable with the existing width. We can do it and the attempt is to keep the canal clean for operating cruise vessels,” he said.
04/01/13 S Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu
