NHAI floating tenders for ₹2,700-cr elevated road

Tenders for the long-pending Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated expressway are being floated on BOT model very shortly, said chairman NHAI Nagendra Nath Sinha. The cost of the project has been hiked from ₹1,800 crore to ₹2,700 crore, and fresh tenders will be floated for the 20.5 km-long elevated corridor for which the Indian Navy has also sent a proposal to the Defence ministry, seeking its approval to give up a portion of the land on its premises and facilitate the project‘s quicker implementation. The project is back on track after various stakeholders, including the Defence department, Chennai Port Trust (ChPT), state and union governments, agreed in principle to take over the project during a high-level meeting held at the state secretariat recently, following which the Navy in Chennai agreed to part with about 2000 sqft of its land near Napier Bridge. The Chennai Port Trust has agreed to compensate the Navy with an alternative piece of land and the Port Trust and state government have also agreed to compensate owners of the land and structures that will be demolished for the road project.