Though 15 months have passed by now, ever since the Tamil
Nadu State Government stopped the 19-km long Chennai Port - Maduravoyal
Elevated Expressway along the banks of the River Cooum citing a ridiculous reason
of slight deviation from the approved alignment, there is no sign of restarting
the important infrastructure project anytime soon.
The inordinate delay in completing the all important road
connectivity project, which was primarily conceived as a permanent solution to
growing congestion of heavy vehicles plying between Chennai Port and the outskirts
of the City via Chennai’s arterial roads, is silently eating into the already
fragile EXIM trade growth of the region.
As a cascading effect of the halted project, exporters
and importers of the State, who naturally preferred the Chennai Port for their
needs for the last several decades, have started to slowly move their
operations to ports located in the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh,
Kerala and Karnataka.
According to EXIM sources, any further delay to this Rs.
1,815-crore project would not augur well for the profile of the Tamil Nadu
State, which vies for support of many more foreign manufacturing companies to
set up their plants here.
In the interest of EXIM traders from the region, the State
Government should take serious efforts to bring the decongesting road
connectivity project back on track, says the EXIM community in Chennai.
PROJECT HISTORY
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With Chennai Port, a Central Government maintained port,
and the Tamil Nadu State Government realizing that the growing congestion of heavy
vehicles on Chennai’s arterial roads could create serious problems for other
road users in the future if not arrested on time, the stakeholders have planned
for a better road connectivity to ensure seamless movement of cargo towards
Chennai Port round-the-clock.
After much deliberation on the prospective plans for win-win
situation for all users - regular motorists as well as heavy vehicles – it was
finally decided that an elevated road connectivity project from Chennai Port up
to Maduravoyal, which is the important entry point for all kinds of commercial vehicles
to the port, should be developed, so that traffic congestion could be arrested
in future.
As a next step, the Government of India in December 2008
gave its nod for the development of 18.3 km four-lane elevated road from
Chennai Port to Maduravoyal under its flagship scheme of National Highways
Development Programme (NHDP) Phase VII.
The project, started in September 2010 at the behest of
Tamil Nadu Government and Chennai Port Trust and due to be completed by September
2013 (as per 2010 schedule), would cut down the travel time between the port
and Maduravoyal, on the city outskirts, from more than two hours to just 15-20
minutes.
SALIENT FEATURES
Under NHDP Phase VII, the Government of India had
approved the construction of standalone ring roads, bypasses, grid separators,
flyovers, elevated roads, tunnels, road over-bridge, underpasses, service roads,
etc. under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
The need for a dedicated freight road emerged in the
picture, as Chennai Port has experienced a steady increase in the volume of
traffic handled over the years, which in turn has increased the traffic on the internal
roads of the port.
The Elevated road connectivity project came into
existence due to traffic restrictions on movement of heavy vehicles to Chennai
Port on NH-4 within Chennai City.
The State Government of Tamil Nadu in 2008 also agreed to
the alignment of this elevated road and also to carry out the land acquisition,
rehabilitation and resettlement on a 50:50 cost basis between the Chennai Port Trust
and the State Government. The Chennai Port Trust would initially bear the
entire cost and subsequently 50 % of the cost would be reimbursed from the
State Government.
The project has been envisaged to provide an all-time road without any
traffic regulatory obstacles so that the port can be approached directly from the
outskirts of Chennai City without interfering with the city traffic by all commercial
vehicles.
For general traffic (non-commercial users), entry/exit
ramps are proposed on Kamarajar Salai (exit), Sivananda Salai (entry), College Road
(entry) and Spur Tank Road (exit).
The project was planned on Design, Build, Finance,
Operate & Transfer (DBFOT) basis and the concession period was decided as
15 years in accordance with the design capacity of the highways.
The project has been divided into two sections. In section
-1, road from Chennai Port to Koyambedu –total length 14.2 km including the
ramps at Koyambedu would be developed. In section -2, the project was decided
from Koyambedu to Maduravoyal – widening of NH4 from and elevated road should
be carried out.
OBSTACLES
Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation
stone for the important connectivity project in January 2009, work on the
Koyambedu to Maduravoyal section of the Elevated Road began only in September 2010.
The work on the Chennai Port to Koyambedu section started
only in March 2011 after receiving the Centre’s CRZ clearance for the section
since it runs along the River Cooum, one of the important waterways in city.
Though the implementing authority of the project, NHAI,
started to fast track the project after so-much undue delays, Tamil Nadu
Government put a spanner on its work citing deviation from approved alignment along River Cooum in March 2012.
Ever since the objection and “Stop Work” notice by the
State’s PWD Department, work on the Rs. 1815- crore much-desired project came
to a grinding halt.
LEGAL WRANGLING
Consequent on the project being forced to halt in the
face of PWD’s objection, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has moved
the Madras High Court seeking directions to the State authorities to execute it
as agreed earlier.
According to the prayer,
NHAI sought quashing of a letter by the Chief Engineer of Water Resource Organisation, Public Works Department, asking
NHAI to obtain revised Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) clearance for the 19-km
long' Chennai Port-Maduravoyal Elevated Corridor, and carry out certain remedial measures.
This direction to obtain revised CRZ clearance was nothing
but arbitrary exercise of power, mala fide against the spirit of public
interest and various orders passed by the Tamil Nadu Government, NHAI claimed in
the petition.
The implementing agency also submitted before the court
that though necessary clearances and approvals had been obtained from concerned
departments/agencies before commencing the project, after the change of
Government in May 2011, there has been no cooperation from various departments
of the State Government with regard to the land acquisition, rehabilitation and
resettlement of project affected families.
Though the court proceedings are still on, the delay due to stoppage of the connectivity project has already taken a heavy toll in the form of drastic fall in cargo meant for Chennai Port.
Meanwhile, Soma Constructions Ltd., the contractor
of the Chennai Port – Maduravoyal Elevated Expressway project, also approached
the NHAI authorities for compensation arising out of undue delay in completing
the project.
THE UTILITY
For Chennai Port, the elevated road project came only as
an opportunity to secure seamless as well as uninterrupted road connectivity,
since the other connecting road, EMRIP, also known as the Chennai Port Road Connectivity
Project, is progressing slowly.
The EMRIP has been planned to improve the connectivity of
the Chennai Port to the National Highway network by strengthening the
connecting roads from the port. The project is being executed by the SPV Chennai
Ennore Port Road Co Ltd comprising National Highways Authority of India (NHAI),
Chennai Port Trust, Ennore Port Limited and Government of Tamil Nadu.
Even though the existing EMRIP road serves as a lifeline
for Chennai Port, it is also the important arterial road for other commuters as
well as the public transports in Northern parts of Chennai.
Since the EMRIP would also face congestion of vehicles in
a few years’ time, a dedicated road like Elevated Road from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal,
which would be free from any kind of restrictions on movement of vehicle, will
ultimately help the port to sustain its dominance in the region.
GAINS FOR TN
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According to a section of EXIM players, early commissioning
of the Elevated Expressway would help both the traders of import and export as
well as the State Government. While seamless movement of cargo would increase
revenue for Chennai Port, it would also help the manufacturing sector in the
State to fully rely on the oldest port for their raw material requirements.
So, in the interest of the trade as well as for the brand
building of Tamil Nadu State among
the international players, who are keeping a close eye on
the State to set up their manufacturing plants, the concerned authorities
should sink their ego and seriously vie for a solution for the very important infrastructure
project in the best interest of EXIM players as well as Chennai Port in
particular and the Tamil Nadu Government
in general
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