After several rounds of talks, the Chennai Port Trust and the Navy have agreed in principle to swap lands to facilitate the construction of the Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated corridor.
Sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is implementing the project, said they had written to the Ministry of Defence asking that the approval be accorded for the land transfer.
The extent of naval land required for the project has been reduced and some changes in the alignment have been made to suit the reduction in land. “Without the land near the Adyar river leading to the Port, the project cannot begin since there would be no place for the elevated corridor to land/take off. It is the location where the road connects with the city,” the official explained. Since they did not have enough land previously, the contractor had asked for compensation for the delay in providing lands. “We cannot restart it without the required land. The State government is also fast-tracking the removal of encroachments along the Cooum river since our alignment runs along its banks,” the official explained.
The detailed report on the project, now estimated to cost around ₹3,000 crore, is ready. Earlier, the 4-lane wide expressway was to cost ₹1,815 crore. Now the proposal is to add two more lanes and make it six lanes wide. This change was made taking into consideration the increase in traffic and safety of road users.
The project that began in 2010 was put on hold in 2012 following objections from the State government about its alignment. However, after discussions, the government later asked the NHAI to provide a detailed proposal on the realignment of the corridor, which is now ready. The project aims to decongest Poonamallee High Road through which heavy vehicles to and from the port proceed at night and help in improving traffic to the port.
