A long-delayed coastal highway project has cleared its final environmental review, clearing the way for construction to begin later this year on the 42-kilometre route linking two major port towns.
The review process, which examined the road’s impact on nearby mangrove patches and tidal flats, took nearly two years to complete after an initial assessment was sent back for additional mitigation planning.
“This route has been on the drawing board for over a decade,” said an official at the roads and highways department. “Getting the environmental clearance is the last major hurdle before we can start moving equipment.”
Planners say the road will nearly halve current travel times between the two towns and ease pressure on an aging inland route that floods most monsoon seasons, disrupting freight movement for days at a time.
Fishing communities along the coast have asked for noise and dust mitigation measures during construction, along with guaranteed access points to existing jetties — concerns the project office says will be written into the contractor’s environmental management plan.
