A detailed project report for building the Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor project will be ready by the year-end, according to T. K. A. Nair, Advisor to Prime Minister, who is closely monitoring the progress of the project.
Both the Governments of India and Japan are seriously pursuing the project. In fact, this project was high on the agenda during a recent meeting between the prime ministers of both the countries, he told newspersons.
The project report is being prepared by the Japan International Co-operation Agency. It will go into details such as the total outlay and the mode of funding. The Japanese Government will fund the project, he said.
The first phase of the project will connect Chennai and Bengaluru, and later be extended to Andhra Pradesh. Nair said he has been discussing this project with officials of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Nair, who was here to participate in a function at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, said the industrial corridor was of interest to Japan as over 400 Japanese companies, including Nissan and Toshiba, have set up their facilities in and around Chennai.
In fact, these companies have been asking the Government for better infrastructure for the smooth movement of goods, he said.
Nair also held a meeting with officials of ports, National Highways Authority of India and Southern Railways to discuss infrastructure bottlenecks.
The meeting discussed the progress of the construction of the road-over-bridge (RoB) at Athipattu, near Ennore port.
Japanese power equipment maker Toshiba JSW Turbines and Generator, which has a plant near Ennore, said the existing bridge cannot bear the weight of its turbine and generators that would weigh around 500 tonnes.
first turbine
The company, which is likely to build its first turbine by the year-end, wants a new bridge at Athipattu.
It may be recalled that the Japanese Prime Minister had announced 13 billion yen for the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme.