Kerala has the most developed infrastructure facilities in terms of transportation (roadways, railways, airways and waterways) and power generation. They not only facilitate the movement of passenger and goods traffic, but also integrate the State with the rest of the country and thus improve the overall quality of life of the people. Accordingly, the Government of Kerala has been undertaking several infrastructural projects, from time to time, in order to attract significant investments into the State. All such services makes the State an ideal destination for investors and forms an important role in the prosperity of an economy.
Roadways
The State has a road of length 1.54 lakh km. The National Highways in Kerala are:-
- NH-17 (Thalappady – Edappally) with a length of 420.777 km;
- NH-47 (Walayar – Kaliyikkavila) with a length of 416.800 km;
- NH-47 A (Wellington Island to Kochi – Bypass) with a length of 5.920 km;
- NH-49 (Bodimettu – Muvatupuzha – Kochi) with a length of 167.593 km;
- NH-208 (Kollam – Aryankavu – Muvattupuzha) with a length of 81.280 km;
- NH-212 (Kozhikode – Kallegel) with a length of 117.600 km;
- NH-213 (Kozhikode – Palakkad) with a length of 125.300 km;
- NH- 220 (Kollam – Kottayam – Kumily – Theni) with a length of 190.300 km.
Also, the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) is in the process of upgrading and widening of 584 km of existing roads and carrying out heavy maintenance of 993 km of roads and 150 km of performance linked maintenance.
Railways
The State has a total railway route of 1148 km, of which 111.14 km are metre gauge and covers 13 railway routes. Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Madurai divisions of Southern Railway control various railway operations in the State. Out of this, Thiruvananthapuram division handles considerable share of railway activities of Kerala.
Airways
Kerala has 111 statute miles of airways, with three airports. Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi are the two international airports, while Kozhikode is the domestic airport.
Waterways
Kerala has a coastline of 585 km, with one major port at Kochi and 17 minor intermediate ports. The Ganga from Haldia to Allahabad (1620 Km); the Brahmaputra from Dhubri to Sadiya (891 Km); and the West Coast Canal from Kottapuram to Kollam along with Champakara and Udyogmandal canals (205 Km) have been declared the National Waterways.
Power
Though the power development in the State has been based mainly on the exploitation of the abundant hydro-potential, the State is on its way to achieving self-sufficiency with its recent efforts to exploit thermal power to its full potential. A major policy initiative of the State Government in recent years has been to involve private sector participation in augmenting power supply. Kerala power system consists of 30 power generating stations which include 24 hydel, 5 thermal and one wind; of which Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) owns 24 hydel, one wind and two thermal stations. The total installed capacity in Kerala as on 31 March 2005 is estimated as 2617.22 MW, of which KSEB's hydel plants contribute 1810.60 MW; wind farm at Kanchikode 2.0 MW and thermal power plants 234.60 MW.
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