Kerala's infrastructure development should not be limited to high-speed rail

Last month, the Central government gave Kerala the preliminary approval to construct an ambitious high-speed railway corridor connecting Thiruvananthapuram, the capital on the southern tip of the country, to the northern district of Kasaragod.

The proposed project, being dubbed as a "lifeline" for the state, will reduce the travel time between the two districts that are 570 kilometres apart to fewer than three hours. At the moment, it takes anywhere from 12 hours to 17 hours to cover the distance.

The two-track, standard-gauge rail corridor, with at least nine stations, will be independent of the existing rail network, according to the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation.

Media reports indicate that the Rs 1 lakh crore undertaking, easily the most ambitious infrastructure venture launched in the state's history and one of the most expensive railway projects in independent India, will be built using both public and private sector funding, with a substantial portion coming from international investors.

The high-speed corridor is not the only railway project Kerala is launching. The state is also planning suburban mass transit systems for its three largest cities. The construction of a metro rail network in Kochi has already begun, while two monorail systems are being considered for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

Once completed, these projects will no doubt transform Kerala's economic and social landscape. The state government deserves a lot of credit for embarking on these colossal ventures, which represent a tectonic shift in the mindset of Kerala's political class.

Historically, when it comes to modernising infrastructure, the state's attitude has been no different from the rest of the country. For its politicians and bureaucrats, the idea of transportation infrastructure development until now was limited to widening and extending a road here and a road there. Not surprisingly, the patchwork and piecemeal projects were not just enough to catch up with the population growth.

In that sense, the high-speed corridor is one of the first truly bold infrastructure ideas to have emerged from the state. In scale and magnitude, it will be unprecedented. Its estimated budget is approximately 350 times the money the state spent on its last major transportation project, the Cochin International Airport.

Nonetheless, it will be money well-spent. At a time when the nation as a whole has committed itself to developing infrastructure - the country is expected to spend $1 trillion in the sector in the next five years - Kerala should not miss the bus.

One hopes the state will also improve its healthcare, energy, education, communication, food and agriculture and civic infrastructure sooner rather than later. In many of these areas, whole-scale revamping is long overdue.

Upgrading of the transportation infrastructure is a good first step. A sustainable and efficient transportation system is a prerequisite for the state's overall development and socio-economic progress. The challenges of the new economy cannot be met without ensuring fast delivery of goods and services and speedy movement of people.

For that reason, it is important that the infrastructure development will not stop with the high-speed railway project.

Much like other states, what Kerala needs is a combination of different mass public transportation systems. High-speed and metro rail networks form just one component of it. Efficient road, water and air transportation systems are equally important.

Kerala's problem is not connectivity. It has more than 150,000 kilometers of roads - including nine national highways with a length of more than 1,500 kilometers - which connect every nook and corner of the state to its major urban centres.

Its 1,200 kilometer-long railway route guarantees that a vast majority of towns, urban areas and villages are within an hour or two from a railway station. Additionally, it has 1,900 kilometres of inland waterways, which include backwaters and navigable rivers.

The problem is with the overall quality of the transportation.

A case in point is the state's roads, which are ill-suited to serve the modern economy. "Even though Kerala has succeeded in providing adequate length of roads, the overall quality of roads is much below the prescribed standard set forth by the Indian Road Congress," a state Planning Commission report says.

Roads are extremely congested, as they struggle to keep pace with a dramatic rise in vehicular population in recent years. From 2000-2001 to 2009-2010, the number of vehicles in the state has more than doubled from 2.4 million to 5.4 million, the state Department of Motor Vehicles estimates show.

Because of poor maintenance and absence of proper planning and adequate investment, roads remain awfully inefficient, unsafe, energy-consuming and extremely slow, by any standards. Poor transportation infrastructure has a huge negative impact on Kerala in terms of below-par productivity in commerce and industry, energy costs, and lives lost. In 2010, there were more than 26,000 accidents in the state.

Widening the existing roads, modernising the signaling system and providing separate pathways to people and bicycle traffic, especially in metro areas and in towns and villages should be a priority for the state. In most parts, it is the roads that feed into the main rail and air traffic.

Given the state of its economy, it will be hard for Kerala to embark on a north-south super highway project and a high-speed train corridor simultaneously. Implementing two such gargantuan projects might also carry potential short-term and long-term ecological risks.

Considering its limited land, challenging topography and high-population density, it is perhaps wiser for Kerala to consider double-decking the existing national highways to reduce inter-city traffic congestion and ensure faster and safer roads for through traffic.
As part of upgrading the infrastructure, air and water transportation should also be further developed.

In addition to the three existing airports in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode and the ones under construction in Kannur and Aranmula, the state should build small and medium-sized airports capable of handling smaller planes and helicopters in towns such as Kottayam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Kollam and Thalasseri.

According to the Kerala Water Transportation Department, the state has nearly 1,900 kilometres of inland waterways, which include backwaters and navigable river, most of it in the southern part.

At the moment, water transportation is limited to waterlogged areas, while Kerala's 585-kilometre-long coast line remains largely underutilized. Other than the Cochin Port, few among the state's 17 small ports function at full capacity. If developed properly - by building modern boat jetties and marinas and acquiring speed boats to carry both people and goods - these ports will be sources of significant revenue for the state.

A comprehensive and whole-scale upgrade of rail, road, air and water transportation will require infusion of massive amounts of resources. The only way, it can be done is through public-private partnerships, similar to the pioneering effort of the Cochin International Airport Limited.

In the 12 years of its existence, the Cochin airport, with 11,000 private investors, has proved to be a highly profitable venture. The proven success of CIAL should make it easier to raise finances to develop infrastructure in other areas. As the dictum goes, nothing begets success like success.

(The writer, based in Washington, DC, is the chairman of NeST Group, one of the largest independent electronics manufacturing services groups in India)