"Waterway To Prosperity": Explaining Kerala's West Coast Canal Project

Inaugurating projects worth Rs 325 crore for a section of the West Coast Canal Project, on 20 February, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that it was crucial for state's economic growth and development.

What Is The West Coast Canal project?

The project is a 620 kilometre-long inland waterway running along the coast, from Bekal in the north to Kovalam in the south. A part of it, ie Kollam to Kozhikode has been declared as National Waterway-3 by the central government.

What Is The Current Status?

The project, which is now expected to be completed by 2025, is being executed in phases. The first phase was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vijayan in February 2021.

According to the government, 520 kilometres of the route had become navigable after the completion of the first phase.

Among the works inaugurated on 20 February were a couple of bridges, four jetties, canal dredging works and a sound and light show at the Chilakkoor tunnel in Thiruvananthapuram district.

According to a report by The New Indian Express, while the first phase was mainly about making the existing canal network navigable by increasing the depth, the second phase is about acquiring land, removing encroachments, rehabilitating people and connecting the different parts of the canal.

The third and the final phase would be the construction of cargo and container terminals.

Why Is It Important?

Like inland waterways in other parts of the country, the project would create a cheaper and more environment-friendly transport option for freight, as well as passengers.

A press note released by the government of India after the inauguration of the Ro-Ro ferry between Ghogha and Dahej, stated that while it takes Rs 1.5 per kilometre to transport one ton of cargo by road, it takes Re 1 by rail and just 25-30 paisa by waterways.

At present, people travelling from the north to the south in Kerala or vice versa are dependent on NH-66 or the railways.

The Silverline project, which is a proposed high-speed rail project that would connect Kasargod in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south, is yet to take off after running into hurdles due to the huge area of land to be acquired and opposition from people.

Tourism Potential

The project also has a huge potential to increase tourism in the state. It could become something like the already well-developed backwaters circuit, that too on an even larger scale.

Many of the state's famous tourist spots like Kovalam, Alappuzha, Kuttanad, Kochi, Muziris and Kumarakom are located on the waterway route or near it.

At places on estuaries like Kayamkulam, links to the sea can be established.

Connectivity with existing modes of transport, ports and airports would make the travel experience seamless.

Challenges

Land acquisition, rehabilitation of people, dredging, redesigning existing structures (like increasing height of bridges to allow vessels to pass) and the construction of artificial canals in certain stretches of the Malabar region, are some of the major challenges.

However, once completed, the project is set to significantly change the face of the state's transport and tourism sector.