Date:07/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/07/stories/2009010760470800.htm

Tamil Nadu

Maduravoyal expressway will be ready in 36 months: Baalu

Special Correspondent

Project conceived to handle 7 million TEUs by 2017

CHENNAI: India’s longest 4-way elevated expressway from the Chennai port to Maduravoyal will be ready within 36 months, said T.R. Baalu, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, here on Tuesday.

Besides, 25 new projects would be commissioned in different parts of the country by February-end.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would lay the foundation stone for the Rs.1,655-crore project in the presence of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

The 19-km expressway will begin near the War Memorial gate and run along the banks of the Cooum up to Koyambedu (14.5 km) and along NH4 up to Maduravoyal.

The last 1.5 km will be at the surface level.

Rehab package

A sum of Rs.258 crore has been set aside as rehabilitation package for 12,000 families. The State and Central governments have decided to share the cost equally.

Talking to newsmen, Mr. Baalu said the expressway was needed to meet the increased load performance of the port that presently handled over 1 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers every year. In future, it would handle containers, cars, cruises and other clean cargoes while iron ore and coal would be shifted to the Ennore port.

“This project has been conceived to handle 7 million TEUs by 2017. The existing port can handle 1 million TEUs. The second container terminal, with a capacity of 1 million TEUs, will become operational by May 2009 and the Rs.3,686-crore mega terminal will handle the balance,” he said.

According to Mr. Baalu, the Centre, the State government and the Chennai port would shell out Rs.310 crore (30 per cent) towards land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement costs.

Soma Enterprise would undertake the project on a build, operate and transfer basis. They had been given concession for 15 years (including construction period of three years).

Soma Enterprise share was 30 per cent while the balance would be met through the viability gap funding method.

“In the last 18 months, the UPA government widened 6,609 km of roads (3.99 km per day) as against 2,302 km (1.86 km/day) by the NDA government. In the last four years, the Centre spent Rs.33,081crore on road projects, Rs.18,850 crore on port and shipping sector, Rs.9 crore on lighthouses and Rs.2,464 crore on the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project,” he said.