The Thiruvananthapuram sewerage project covering Attukal, Kalady and Ambalathara is expected to restart in the first week of December after the city corporation approved a proposal to use 16th Finance Commission funds for the stalled work.
The ₹157.5-crore project had stopped after financial constraints disrupted payments and slowed construction. The corporation council approved the new funding proposal on Saturday, and it will be placed before the district planning committee for consideration on Monday.
Corporation secretary Muhammad Shafi said all pending bills connected with the project would be cleared, including ₹6 lakh needed to obtain road-cutting permission from the Public Works Department. He said the funding-related issues affecting the project were being addressed.
According to the corporation, the existing contractor could resume work once the funding process is completed. A fresh tender would not be required, a move that could help avoid another delay in restarting construction.
The project suffered a major setback after a ₹66.63-crore loan from the National Housing Bank lapsed. The loan had been availed in September 2024 but expired in February 2026 after the required work-status report was not communicated to the bank. The corporation became aware of the lapse only in July, according to the report.
The funding disruption affected payments to the contractor and halted progress. Labour and machinery had already been mobilised, and approximately 1 km of sewer pipeline had been completed before the work stopped.
The project is now divided into two packages estimated at ₹166.5 crore and ₹22 crore. The revised figures together total ₹188.5 crore, higher than the earlier project estimate of ₹157.5 crore. The corporation has not provided further details in the supplied report on the reasons for the revised package estimates.
The proposed restart is also significant for Attukal because of next year’s Attukal Pongala, when lakhs of devotees are expected to gather around the temple area. Pipeline construction will require road excavation, and the corporation will need to complete the work and restore affected roads to maintain access and traffic movement during the festival period.
The immediate steps are the district planning committee’s consideration of the funding proposal, payment of pending bills and completion of the PWD road-cutting approval. The corporation is aiming to resume work in the first week of December.
