The civic body has initiated a programme to improve lighting with energy-saving lamps in the added areas of the city.
In the first phase of the proposal, 1.1 lakh streetlights will be installed. The Chennai Corporation has floated tenders for over 9,000 LED fittings in eight zones.
The work will begin in the third week of February. The LED streetlights will be commissioned in 45 days.
The initiative of the civic body is expected to help residents in the added areas of Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Valsaravakkam, Alandur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur.
The LED lights will considerably improve lighting in the added zones as they last five times longer than sodium-vapour lamps.
The initiative is also expected to bring down the level of energy consumption by 25 per cent and save power in the coming year. The civic body was also impressed by the aesthetic value of the LED streetlights.
The 426 sq. km. of the city have over 2.2 lakh streetlights and the expanded areas have 88,000 streetlights.
Even though roads in the seven zones of Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam and Adyar in the old city limits have superior illumination with a very low percentage of faulty streetlights, the added areas continue to have the old system of illumination put in place by many erstwhile panchayats in the region.
The civic body has divided the work to install LED fittings into 68 packages in order to speed up work.
The new streetlights will be put up 25 metres apart from each other.
As many as 1,000 roads in the added areas will be illuminated by the LED streetlights. Many of the roads are bus routes. The streetlights will have underground cables.
The LED streetlights have advantages such as improved night visibility due to higher colour rendering and higher colour temperature.
The significantly longer lifespan, lower energy consumption, reduced maintenance costs, absence of disposal hazards and lower carbon footprint has made the civic body opt for LED streetlights.
