World Bank-assisted road project to commence next year

A World Bank-assisted road project with an estimated investment of around Rs 8,563 crore is expected to commence next year in Tamil Nadu, according to Rajeev Ranjan, state principal secretary - highways and minor ports.

Delivering his special address in Suminfra 2013, a summit on sustainable public private partnerships in infrastructure, Ranjan said, "The biggest externally-aided project in the state so far would cover 1,678 km of roads in identified areas and this we expect to commence from next year.''

He later told reporters the details of the project, including the role of PPP, would be finalised once the government is informed of the amount of World Bank assistance.

The government had identified the area of development and the details are being worked out, he added. In terms of infrastructure development, funding is a major constraint. There is a need to look at long-term funds for infrastructure projects like roads and ports and the Centre could open up the possible exit route for the investors.

This could attract more investments into the business, he added.

Almost 15 per cent of India's export and import is handled by the ports in Tamil Nadu and the government is looking at increasing this share to 25 per cent under the Vision 2023.

The Tamil Nadu Maritime Board is looking at various options to increase the port facilities in the state and three more port projects are expected to be notified soon in the state.

Speaking in another session, E Velmurugan, executive vice chairman of Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance & Export Promotion Bureau, said there were around 1,534 projects in the pipeline in Tamil Nadu, of which around 461 were infra projects.

Of these, around 130 are in the private sector, while 206 are done by the state and 125 are from the Centre. Around 35 per cent of the total investments in infra projects in the state is committed by the private sector.

The state, which has a total power generation capacity of 18,518.75 Mw, is unable to utilise the capacity completely round the year considering the renewable energy, which is mainly seasonal in nature, constitutes to around 43.3 per cent of the total capacity.

Chennai Metro to offer space for solar energy panels

The Chennai Metro Rail Ltd is exploring opportunities to have solar energy generation facilities in its available space including the roof top of various stations and other complexes.

The company is also looking at opportunities to offer spaces for advertisements, said a senior official from the company.

Delivering a project on the Mega projects in Tamil Nadu, L N Prasad, director - systems, Chennai Metro Rail Ltd, said that the CMRL has plans to have solar energy generation facilities in its infrastructure.

The panels could be placed in the elevated stations, in depots and other facilities under the CMRL and the project could be worked out with renewable energy firms in various models. It has already tied up with Thermax for offering space for such a facility, he added.