CHENNAI:Mega road project stuck in a limbo

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on June 21, 2011:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/mega-road-project-stuck-in-a-limbo/286290.html
CHENNAI: The Union Shipping Ministry’s Rs 267-crore port connectivity project, launched by the Union shipping Minister GK Vasan in last January is progressing at a snail’s pace.

“The Minister launched the project with much fanfare and announced that the long-pending demand of the local people would be completed in 24 months. However, on ground, nothing seems to be moving,” Kunjammal, a resident of Thiruchinang Kuppam in Thiruvottiyur, told City Express.

The work came to a standstill after a cancellation of the contractor for missing deadlines two years ago. In December last year, the Chennai and the Ennore ports had paid a part of their equity shares to the project.

The project includes widening of the 9km stretch of the Thiruvotriyur-Ponneri-Panchetti (TPP) road into a four-lane highway with service roads on both sides, improving and strengthening of Manali Oil Refinery road (MORR) and northern segment of Inner Ring road and the widening of 7 km stretch of Ennore expressway into a four-lane road with service roads on both sides from Thiruchinang Kuppam.

Though the project was conceptualised way back in 1998 for improving road network in North Chennai to ease the flow of container trailers and heavy vehicles between Chennai and Ennore ports, it hit roadblocks in the past for various reasons.

“Besides survey and marking by NHAI officials for finalising new lanes on the road in the month of May, nothing moved further,” said Kuttiappan, another resident. According to NHAI sources, since the project took off after several delays, there have been yet some minor preliminary hiccups. The local residents also appealed to the Union Minister GK Vasan to inspect the progress of the project periodically, to ensure time-bound completion of the long-pending demand.