Cochin Port Highway Project Faces Delay as NHAI Rejects New Alignment Proposal

The construction of the four-lane port connectivity highway (NH 966-B) from Nettoor to CIFT Junction in Willingdon Island has hit a hurdle after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) found the new alignment suggested by the Cochin Port Authority (CPA) technically unfeasible.

The 45-m wide NH corridor was planned to connect the Aroor–Edappally stretch of NH 66 with Willingdon Island, starting from Nettoor and reaching near the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) via the Thevara Ferry region. In CPA’s revised proposal, the highway would cross Vembanad Lake from the starting point of the existing Alexander Parambithara Bridge, pass through Thevara Ferry, and then move towards Nettoor.

The project aims to provide a bypass for the highly congested Kundannoor junction, the clogged Kundannoor–Thevara stretch, Alexander Parambithara Bridge, and the Mattancherry BOT Bridge junction, where both passenger and heavy vehicles currently face severe traffic bottlenecks.