The Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone of the Chennai expressway on Thursday (January 8). The 19-km elevated expressway which is supposed to be built at an outlay of Rs.1,655 crore will connect Chennai Port and Maduravoyal. While informing about the proposed expressway, Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister T.R. Baalu said that it will take three years to complete the corridor.

 

The elevated expressway will have three entry and exit points. Starting from the Chennai Port near the War Memorial gate it will run along the banks of the Cooum and then along National Highway 4 till Maduravoyal. Baalu said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will finance the 40 percent of the project cost. He also added that fifty percent of the land cost will be given by the state government and Chennai Port. The remaining amount will be borne by the private party, said Baalu.

 

Soma Enterprises Limited which won the bid for handling the project will have a concession period of 15 years that includes the construction period.  Baalu also informed that the Chennai Port Trust is planning to build a mega terminal at an outlay of Rs.Rs.3,686 crore (36.86 billion) on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. This will be the third container terminal for the Chennai Port.