The ground-breaking ceremony for the Chennai Port to Maduravoyal elevated corridor is expected to take place soon.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued the letter of acceptance (LOA) to Mumbai-based J Kumar Infrastructure Projects Ltd, who emerged as the lowest bidder for the Rs 3,570 crore project.
The bid amount is approximately 15 per cent lower than the estimated cost.
Under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, the project will be implemented through the engineering procurement construction (EPC) mode. The contractor has been given a timeline of two-and-a-half years to complete the work.
The project will be divided into four phases, with Phase-1 costing Rs 915 crore, Phase-2 Rs 1,015 crore, Phase-3 Rs 865 crore, and the final phase Rs 775 crore.
Prior to commencing work, the company is required to submit a performance security amount for each phase.
The double-decker corridor, spanning 21 kilometres, will connect Chennai Port with the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway and the industrial corridors at Sriperumbudur and Oragadam.
The first level of the corridor facilitates the movement of light vehicles between Koyambedu and Chennai Port. The corridor has ramps for entry and exit at 13 different locations.
They include Chintadripet, Monteith Road, Binny Road, Spurtank Road, Aminjikarai Police Station, Kamaraj Salai, Sivananda Salai, College Road and Arumbakkam.
The second level was designed specifically for heavy motor vehicles between Chennai Port and Maduravoyal.
Currently, cargo traffic from the south or west region of the state has to detour through the Outer Ring Road at Perungalathur towards Maduravoyal, Red Hills, Tiruvottiyur and enter the Chennai Port in Royapuram — nearly 75 km away, taking about two hours.
However, using the proposed elevated corridor will take just 45 minutes.
As part of the project, the contracting company will demolish around 60 houses near the Napier Bridge and reconstruct them in a designated area.
Originally, the project was designed as a one-tier corridor along the column. Some progress had been made, with pillars already erected near Spurtank Road and Maduravoyal. However, the project was halted due to a change in design requirements.
Port users had been demanding the revival of the project that would reduce the time and cost involved in transporting large cargo consignments.
The Chennai Port, the state government and the Centre are jointly implementing the project.
A detailed project report (DPR) was prepared by the NHAI, the executing agency for the project.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that the project will be completed by December 2024, reports The Hindu.
The project will serve as a dedicated freight corridor for Chennai-bound port traffic and increase the handling capacity of Chennai Port by 48 per cent and reduce the waiting time at the port by six hours, the minister added.