Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala state government has unveiled an ambitious Rs 250-crore programme to modernise the infrastructure in the Thiruvananthapuram Capital Region (TCR) in the next three years.

"The blueprint for the modernisation of the TCR is ready, and work on some of the projects has started. Within the next three years, we would like to build roads and flyovers on par with international standards," says Kerala Public Works Minister M K Muneer.

While Rs 75 crore has been allocated for the projects in this year''s budget, the remaining Rs 175 crore will be spent in the next two years. An exhaustive vision document, Vision 2003, has also been formulated to envisage the developmental requirements of the TCR, consisting of Thiruvananthapuram and its suburbs, for the next 30 years.

Some of the major components of the TCR development project are construction of flyovers at the busy Vellayambalam, Bakery and Pattom junctions and building inner-, middle- and outer-ring roads around the city, says Muneer.

Also on the anvil are the refurbishing of Tagore Theatre into a most modern performing arts complex; remodelling the solid waste-management system; a water supply augmentation project; construction of interstate and local bus terminals; a surface drainage management system and developing Vizhinjam Port.

The state government has also signed a project development and promotion partnership (PDPP) agreement with the IL & FS Infrastructure Development Corporation to develop the projects and secure multilateral, bilateral and other financial aid.

A consultant has been appointed to prepare the Vision 2003 document, which would cover the development needs of not just the 269-sq km area under the TDA but also the suburban municipal towns of Attingal, Nedumangad, Neyyattinkara and Varkala, the tourist resort of Ponmudi and the beach stretch from Vizhinjam to Varkala.

A cabinet sub-committee and another panel, comprising top officials, will vet the development proposals and monitor the progress on the ground.