The Hindu Business Line : Sethusamudram project report likely to be ready by Nov

THE Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Mr T.R. Baalu, has said that he hoped the detailed project report for the proposed Sethusamudram canal project would be ready by end-November.

Mr Baalu declined to go into details whether the project would be done through the private sector `built-own-operate-transfer' (BOOT) route, saying it is a sensitive subject and he would have to confer with the Union Finance Minister first.

Mr Baalu who earlier had a review meeting on road projects with officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) here today told presspersons that the bids to engage a consultant to do the project report would be out before June 20 (through release of advertisements) and the finalisation of the bidder would be completed by middle of next month.

He said that the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) had already done its environmental impact assessment study on the Sethusamudram project. The Minister said that based on the NEERI report, the Tuticorin Port Trust, the nodal agency for the Sethusamudram project, had prepared its application seeking environmental clearance and submitted to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. Its application to the State forest department for its clearance to the project had also been made.

The Tuticorin Port Trust Chairman, Mr N.K. Raghupathy, presented a copy of the application filed by the port (to the Tamil Nadu Government) to Mr Baalu.Essentially a dredging canal project with its canal alignment in two legs running along the Tuticorin Port (in Gulf of Mannar) and Point Calimere (in Bay of Bengal) cutting through Adam's Bridge, the proposed Sethusamudram project would have 56 km water length - 20-km at Adam's Bridge area and 36-km in the Palk Bay leg - and the width of the water way would be at 300 metre and its depth at 12 metre. The project is estimated to cost Rs 2,000 crore.

The scheme implementation would save 400 nautical miles of navigational distance for the ships thereby leading to huge economical benefits for the region. The sea canal project initially conceived in 1955 at an estimated project outlay of Rs 9.98 crore remained practically at drawing-board stage only for several decades although two or so feasibility studies attempted between 1980 and 2000 had seen its project cost climbing from Rs 208 crore to Rs 760 crore and now to Rs 2,000 crore. Mr Baalu felt that once the project implementation was finalised, it should take minimum three to four years for its completion.

During today's review on road /national highway projects, he said the Ministry has proposed to take up by-pass road projects between Madurai and Nellai in South (on the North-South Corridor) and Vallam and Needamangalam (the NH 67 extension), he said adding that this is in addition to the already announced four other NH extension projects - Tuticorin-Kanyakumari, Thanjavur-Kumbakonam- Ulundurpet-Vridhachalam, Coimbatore-Mettupalayam-Ooty-Mysore and the Dindigul-Theni sections. He expressed hope that the State Government would make use of this opportunity and extend co-operation to the Ministry by expediting the land acquisitions needed for the projects.