MoEF&CC gave green signal for Kozhikode-Wayanad twin tunnel project

The MoEF&CC has cleared the ₹2,134 crore Kozhikode-Wayanad twin tunnel project, paving the way for development to improve traffic and connectivity along the Thamarassery Ghat.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MOFF&CC) granted environmental clearance for the Kozhikode-Wayanad twin tunnel road project on Tuesday, removing all procedural impediments. The project is projected to greatly facilitate Wayanad inhabitants’ travel to other regions of the state.

The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), the Konkan Railway Corporation, and the Public Works Department (PWD) previously signed a tripartite agreement to implement the ₹2,134 crore project. The 8.17-kilometre twin tunnel route, envisioned as a remedy to traffic congestion on NH 766’s congested Thamarassery Ghat segment, will run from Anakkampoyil in Kozhikode to Kalladi near Meppadi in Wayanad.

According to Thiruvambady MILA Linto Joseph, development will commence shortly. He stated that the MoEF &CC expert group, which convened on May 14 and 15, recommended clearance under severe conditions. Dileep Buildcon Limited, an infrastructure development business based in Hyderabad, won the construction tender. “Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would inaugurate the project in July”, he added.

Land acquisition procedures for the project are also complete. The PWD received 11.16 hectares in Kozhikode and 8.32 hectares in Wayanad. A total of ₹3.8 crore has been handed to the state’s CAMPA account, with compensatory private land also acquired.

The tunnel survey began in September 2020, and the project gathered momentum when Chief Minister Vijayan released the blueprint on October 6, 2020. It was one of the LDF government’s 30 priority projects. The Uralungal Labour Contract Society has been granted an extra 108 crore to build a 17.5-kilometre approach road from Thiruvambady to Marippuzha.

Source: https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2025/06/18/wayanad-kozhikode-twin-tunnel-project-construction-set-begin.html