Chennai is well on the way to become a leading global city and to meet the demands of the fastest growing city by 2020, the State government will take steps to provide international infrastructural facilities in the coming years, said Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin here on Tuesday.
Delivering his special address at a seminar on ‘Chennai 2020,' organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, he said the State government had embarked upon several initiatives such as construction of circular high-speed corridors, a greenfield airport, implementation of Metro Rail project and construction of 11 more flyovers and overbridges; Financial City, Sports City, Media City and strengthening the water supply infrastructure among other things.
Mr. Stalin released a CD on ‘Chennai 2020' and said the Airports Authority of India was in the process of executing a project that included construction of a domestic terminal, cargo complex and multi-level car parking facilities; extension of international terminal and secondary runway through a bridge over the Adyar river.
“The State government is giving importance to environmental management. The Marina beach and many city parks have been upgraded. The Adyar estuary is being improved as Adyar eco-park. The Pallikaranai marsh has been declared a protected area and we have plans to restore the marsh area,” he said.
Mayor M. Subramanian gave an overall view and said Metro Rail covering 45 km would start functioning from 2015.
He urged the CII and Industry bodies to cooperate with the State government for early implementation of ongoing projects.
He said a portion of the Adyar estuary would be thrown open to public by January 2011 and the entire project completed in five to six years.
L. Mansingh, chairperson, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, said Tamil Nadu would start getting natural gas produced from the Krishna-Godavari basin from 2012. The bidding process for Chennai City Gas distribution would begin in the next six to eight months.
T.T. Ashok, Deputy Chairman, CII Southern Regional Council, spoke.
