Govt. seeks Japanese assistance to give fillip to infrastructure.

The city's urban infrastructure may get a boost soon with the State government seeking to accelerate approval for five significant projects to be implemented with financial assistance from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

In a meeting held at the Secretariat here on Friday, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam requested JICA President Shinichi Kitaoka to provide assistance for the five projects to meet the growing needs of the metropolis.

The projects in the pipeline are - the fourth desalination plant that will treat 400 million litres of water a day (mld), Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail project, the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road Project, Phase II of the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme and the Chennai Urban Infrastructure Project.

According to officials, the Japanese side was 'very receptive' even though the meeting was taking place under “sad circumstances” after the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. Mr. Panneerselvam recollected that the last public function Jayalalithaa attended was the inauguration of the second stretch of the Metro Rail from Little Mount to Chennai airport.

JICA partly funded the Rs. 14,600-crore Phase I project of the Chennai Metro and released funds periodically. It has contributed 59 per cent for Phase I. For the current financial year, the government has already sent a proposal to JICA for a loan of Rs. 2,177 crore. The Japanese side indicated that the Metro Phase I extension was in the final stages of appraisal and approval. Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail may require more than Rs 50,000 crore. JICA, the Centre and the State government would have to share the cost as in the first phase, officials said.

The Chennai Peripheral Road, which will connect Poonjeri on the East Coast Road near Mamallapuram with Kattupalli, will be 162 km long. This road will be yet another semi-circle hugging the city and will allow expansion. The road will require about Rs. 12,000 crore. This includes Rs. 6,000 crore for land acquisition, officials said. The project, which is being implemented by the Highways Department, will run through 78.6 km of existing roads, and decongest traffic along arterial roads on the outskirts.

Also planned is the fourth desalination plant in Perur along East Coast Road that will treat 400 mld of seawater. Financial assistance has been sought under JICA for the project, including improving the old water distribution network in the core city. The project cost has been estimated to be nearly Rs. 5,800 crore. Of this, JICA will contribute about Rs. 4,000 crore. How the Centre and the State will share the rest of the expenditure is still yet to be decided.

Chennai Corporation too has proposed to develop an integrated stormwater drain network in the Kosasthalaiyar basin, covering the zones of Tiruvottiyur, Manali and Madhavaram. The Rs. 1,800-crore project will be executed with JICA funding for a distance of 429 km. The network is coming up in the extended areas linking four river basins- the Kosasthalaiyar basin in north Chennai, the Adyar and Cooum basins in central Chennai and the Kovalam basin in south Chennai, sources said.

During the meeting, Mr. Panneerselvam also noted that the ongoing projects such as Chennai - Bengaluru industrial corridor project supported by JICA must be expedited. JICA officials told him that they were committed to the project as they saw great scope, officials said.

In the course of the discussions, it was highlighted by the Japanese side that the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme Phase I was a great success and JICA was ready to move to TNPP Phase II within the current fiscal. The JICA president expressed great satisfaction with his visit to the Institute of Child Health and said Tamil Nadu was a model partner.

THE HINDU