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At last, work has commenced on the stalled ₹5,885-crore Chennai port to Maduravoyal elevated expressway project that was initiated in 2009. The Mumbai-based J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd has started the groundwork on the Cooum River near Casino Theatre in the heart of the city.
The company has been awarded the Chennai Elevated Corridor by NHAI for a total project cost ₹3,570 crores. The rest of the cost is on land acquisition and river restoration charges, said sources.
The project includes construction of new double Tier 4-lane Elevated Corridor from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal in Tamil Nadu. The total four packages are in EPC mode under Bharatmala Pariyojana Yojana.
Bidders
The project attracted 13 bidders, including Afcons, Tata Projects and Kalpataru Power Transmission. However, J Kumar and Afcons were the only two companies to bid for all the four. The Package I is from 0.342 km to 4.604 km; Package II - 4.604 km to 9,700 km; Package III - 9.700 km to 14.185 km and Package IV - 14.185 km to 20.223 km.
The foundation stone for the stalled 19-km Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Elevated Expressway was laid by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009 at a cost of ₹1,468 crore. However, the project had run into many controversies, and was finally shelved by the AIADMK government citing environment and alignment issues.
Project Revival
However, the project was revived when the DMK government returned to power two years ago with an MoU signed in May 2022 for the expressway at a cost of ₹5,885 crore. The MoU was signed among the four stakeholders — Tamil Nadu Government; National Highways Authority of India, the Chennai Port Authority and Indian Navy.
As per the revised plan, the 20.6 km corridor will be a double-decker one between Madurvoyal on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway and Napier Bridge, adjacent to Chennai port’s gate number in the heart of the city. The first tier of the corridor will facilitate movement of light motor vehicles between Koyambedu and Chennai Port, with ramps in 13 places – seven entries and six exits. The second tier has been designed only for heavy motor vehicles between Chennai Port and Maduravoyal.
The project will help in speedy movement of cargo in and out of the port. At present, trucks to and from the port ply through the port’s northern end in Royapuram. However, the elevated project will allow entry and exit through the port’s southern end in the heart of the city
On the NSE, the stock price of J Kumar Infraprojects closed at ₹576.50, down by 0.51 per cent.
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