The ground-breaking ceremony (bhumi puja) for the two-tier four-lane elevated corridor from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal is likely to be held soon with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) issuing Letter Of Acceptance (LOA) for all four packages of the ₹3,570-crore project to Mumbai-based J. Kumar Infrastructure Projects Ltd., the lowest bidder. The bid amount is about 15% less than the estimate for the project.
The project will be carried out under the engineering procurement construction (EPC) mode under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. The contractor will have two-and-a-half years to complete the work. Phase 1 of the project will cost ₹915 crore, Phase 2 ₹1,015 crore, Phase 3 ₹865 crore and the final phase ₹775 crore. The company will have to submit a performance security amount for each of these four packages before commencing work, said sources in the NHAI.
The double decker 21-km-long corridor will help connect the Chennai Port with the Chennai- Bengaluru Highway and thereby industrial corridors at Sriperumbudur and Oragadam. Since the lower tier will carry local traffic, it will help decongest city roads. The corridor will have entry and exit ramps at 13 locations. The contracting company will have to demolish 60-odd houses now located near the Napier Bridge and reconstruct them elsewhere, for which the land has been identified.
Originally, the project was designed as a one-tier corridor and it ran along the Column. Around 10% of the work had been completed and pillars stand even today near Spurtank Road and Maduravoyal. However, it was halted due to requirements in change of design.
Port users had been clamouring for revival of the project that would help save time and cost in moving large cargo consignments.
