A new Kakkanad Water Metro terminal-to-Infopark e-feeder service will launch within a week.

A SIGNIFICANT concern expressed by Infopark techies is the lack of adequate public transportation options, which subsequently leads to problems such as limited parking space at the IT park. However, the future looks promising for the IT park, as several infrastructure projects, including the Kochi Metro and phase-2 of the Sea-port-Airport Road, are on track to become a reality soon.

Kochi Metro has accelerated the construction of its phase 2 extension, which includes the 11.2-km-long Pink Line running from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium station to Infopark, with a commitment to meet the August 2026 deadline. The process to further extend metro connectivity to Infopark phase 2 has already begun.

The senior official has stated that they are preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the extension to the phase-2 campus. The draft has been finalized.

The Pink Line, featuring 11 stations, is projected to be the most financially viable section for KMRL, according to the DPR. This segment is anticipated to see the highest number of commuters once it becomes operational.

The officials have stated that the construction is underway from both ends and in the Vazhakkala stretch, the widening activities are nearing completion. They will also set up the barricades once the current work is completed and commence metro construction, which will be fully underway in a few weeks. 

In the meantime, commuters will experience significant relief from congested roads and traffic jams when KMRL rolls out the e-feeder service, linking the Kakkanad Water Metro terminal with Infopark within a week. 

They have stated that at present, they are registering and testing 15 new e-feeder buses, and the service will be launched shortly.

The feeder buses will link various locations, including the airport (Aluva-Kochi airport), Medical College (Kalamassery-Medical College), the Infopark-Kakkanad water metro terminal, and other areas lacking transportation options, according to a KMRL spokesperson. 

This service will enable tech professionals to travel from the Vyttila hub to Infopark in just 40 minutes, which includes a 20-25-minute boat ride. This route allows them to bypass congested roads, cutting their travel time in half compared to other methods. They are also planning to increase the frequency to every 20 minutes.

Vyttila-Kakkanad Section will be coming soon once the second pontoon is constructed at the Vyttila terminal, overseeing the water metro project, and highlighting ongoing efforts to connect Infopark Phase 2 shortly. 

Tech professionals are eagerly anticipating the introduction of e-feeder services. Once these buses are in operation, many employees will transition to water transport. Currently, last-mile connectivity remains a significant challenge.

The Infopark campus alone employs nearly 75,000 individuals, and this number exceeds 100,000 when including staff from Smart City and Kinfra Park. 

18.7 crore is allocated for Seaport-Airport Road Phase 2.

On Monday, the state government allocated 18.77 crore for this initiative. Required for the acquisition of 1.6352 hectares of land owned by the HMT. The Supreme Court previously directed the government to deposit the cost of the land to be acquired from HMT into a nationalized bank. This step was necessary to make the land available for the development of the Seaport-Airport Road project.
Industries Minister P. Rajeeve announced that the government plans to allocate an additional 23 crore soon to acquire land for the National Armament Depot (NAD). The Seaport-Airport Road project spans a total distance of 25.7 kilometres, stretching from Irumpanam to Kochi Airport. This initiative has been divided into two distinct phases.

The implementing agency, Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd (RBDCK), successfully finished the first phase, which spans 11.3 kilometres from Irumpanam to Kalamassery, in 2003. This phase was subsequently handed over to the Public Works Department in 2020. The second phase, spanning 14.4 km from HMT Kalamassery to the airport, has unfortunately been delayed. Land acquisition is progressing slowly due to a shortage of funds. The allocation of funds would accelerate the project, ultimately benefiting Infopark employees who travel to the northern regions.