Centre planning inland waterway transport project between Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai

Union Minister of State for Highways and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan has said the central government was planning for an inland waterway transport project between Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai via Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam.

The government was working on developing inland water transportation across the country, the Minister said. "We are planning to commence an inland water transportation project to connect the coastal stretch between Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai via Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam. The coastal districts in these areas will get excellent connectivity," he told reporters here last night.

The Union government was planning to give shape to the project through a joint venture with the Tamil Nadu government, he added.

Referring to the ongoing road construction projects between Vikkiravandi-Thanjavur and Nagapattinam-Thanjavur stretches of National Highway 45C and 67 respectively, Radhakrishnan said work had been expedited with a view to completing them at the earliest.

The Minister further said the Union Railway Ministry was now undertaking a survey to lay a new railway line connecting all the eastern regions of Tamil Nadu. Charging that Tamil Nadu government lacked strong leadership, he said the Chief Minister should take decisions in a bold manner for rapid development.