Bids for Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated highway project may be invited before September: NHAI

The government of Tamil Nadu has said it will take steps to accelerate the Maduravoyal elevated project to Chennai port, which was halted by the previous government.

This was announced by the governor of Tamil Nadu, Banwarilal Purohit, in his speech to the legislature as he outlined the policies of the newly elected DMK regime.

The announcement was received by the President of the Port of Chennai, P. Raveendran, who told The New Indian Express that he wanted the project to be implemented as soon as possible. “I request the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to take over the work as soon as possible,” he said.

When The New Indian Express contacted NHAI officials, they said the tenders are likely to be invited in September. The Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Expressway project is known to be redesigned by Larsen and Toubro and the project is likely to have two flyovers. NHAI officials said redesign work is still ongoing.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and MSME, had rejected the original design because he had suggested that the project could be carried out on a highway with two overpasses. This will also reduce traffic congestion in Chennai, the union minister said.

This comes when the detailed project report was prepared for the 20.3km Maduravoyal-Chennai Port elevated corridor project. The project has stalled for the past eight years as a new lineup was drafted after the state government raised objections to the old lineup.

The 1,800 crore Maduravoyal-Chennai Port elevated corridor was implemented during the tenure of former Prime Minister M Karunanidhi, after then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the causeway. The project was aimed at rapid and continuous distribution of cargo to and from the port of Chennai to other parts of the country. With a total length of 19 km, it was then the longest elevated corridor project in the country.

The project met with resistance as 12,000 families from the weakest sectors, especially those living in the slums, had to be rehabilitated by providing alternative shelters. It later stalled during the tenure of the then Chief Minister J Jayalalitha. The Department of Water Resources instructed NHAI to halt work on the causeway project, stating that pole plugs built for the project were impeding the free flow of water in the Cooum. It was later revived after Gadkari became the shipping minister.