The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Work likely to begin in August

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 28, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Work likely to begin in August

By T. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI, JUNE 27. Work on the long-pending Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project (TNRSP) is likely to begin by August first week.

Popularly known as the East Coast Road Project-II, the scheme, estimated to cost about Rs. 2, 160 crores, envisages upgrading of roads for about 750 km and their rehabilitation and maintenance for nearly 2,000 km.

To be executed in five years, the project broadly extends from Arcot to Tuticorin. As many as 13 bypasses have been proposed. Many interior parts, including Arni, Kumbakonam, Thiruvarur, Tiruvannamalai and Ariyalur, will be covered. Nearly three-fourths of the cost will be met by a World Bank loan, while the remainder will be contributed by the government.

Seventeen packages were formulated for the maintenance component, for which a national bidding was adopted. Four packages were formulated and an international bidding was followed for upgrading roads.

"We have completed selection of bidders for various packages. For eight packages for maintenance works, World Bank approval has been obtained. For others, including for upgrading roads (four packages), it is awaited. In some cases, approval from the State government is required. We hope to obtain all clearances in a month," says an official source.

"We have to obtain the green signal from the Bank at every stage. The multilateral agency does an exhaustive work of analysing the bid documents and the basis of selection of executing agencies," explains the official.

Packages finalised

There are also packages for road users' satisfaction survey, safety measures and the management system. A half-a-dozen non-governmental organisations have been deployed for implementing rehabilitation and resettlement measures. According to the World Bank's web site, only one package has been awarded — for identification of accident-prone spots and designing of counter measures.

For the last one year, the government had been dropping hints on the launch of execution of the project. In April last, the Highways Minister, O. Paneerselvam, told the Assembly that the work would begin in a "few months." A year ago, the lending agency's Board of Directors approved a loan application from the State government. In August, the Union government, the State government and the World Bank signed a tripartite agreement. In 2003-04, the State government allotted about Rs. 270 crores in its budget for the project. But the selection process was not completed. This year, Rs.500 crores has been provided.

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