Medical College bus terminus to become a reality soon

The proposed bus terminus project near the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, will soon be a reality with the Kozhikode Corporation set to approve the plan in a week or two. Mayor Beena Philip told The Hindu on Monday (October 27) that the plan would be approved by the Corporation council in either of the two council meetings scheduled for October 31 or the first week of November.

The final hurdle for the Corporation to go ahead with the project was removed when the State cabinet lifted the government order of 2014 to cancel the bus terminus project on October 21, 2025.

The foundation stone for the project was laid in 2009. It was designed as a public-private partnership model and estimated to cost ₹60 crore. As much as 2.64 acres had been identified beside Mavoor Road for the terminus in 2003. However, the project was later put on the back burner. It was eventually cancelled in 2014. Files on the project were found missing in a Vigilance inquiry, and allegations of misappropriation of funds emerged. However, the Kerala High Court, in an order dated October 12, 2023, deemed the allegations invalid. Following this, the State cabinet decided to cancel the order of 2014.

“Once the Corporation approves the plan, we will go ahead with the construction as soon as possible. However, the Corporation needs to get the 60 cents of land owned by the Home Department on lease for the project to be completed,” said N.P.C. Aboobakker, Director of Malabar Infrastructures Ltd (Minfra), the firm that will carry out the work.

Corporation councillor of Medical College South ward E.M.Soman said that the development of Medical College Karanthur Road on the North side of the proposed terminus had to be completed, and some drainage needed to be re-aligned before the Bus Terminus project takes off.

The proposed terminus will be spread over 5 lakh square feet. It will include a shopping complex and a movie hall, and enough parking space. The revised estimate is ₹200 crore. The 60 cents of the Home department will be used as a parking space for ambulances, taxi cabs and autorickshaws. A flyover from the Institute of Maternal and Child Health to the bus terminus is also planned.