Tamil Nadu to upgrade power transmission with Japanese aid

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa Wednesday said a new project to improve the power transmission in the state will be implemented with the financial assistance of Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

She also requested JICA for a line of credit to for viability gap funding and credit to private parties in infrastructure projects.

In a statement issued here by the government, Jayalalithaa, during her meeting with a JICA delegation led by its president Akihiko Tanaka, said: "This year, a new Tamil Nadu Transmission System Improvement Project with a JICA loan of Rs.3,410 crore rupees (607.40 billion yen) is to be implemented."

She told the delegation the project will greatly help strengthen the power transmission network in the state as 6,000 MW of fresh power generation capacity is expected to be commissioned within next one or two years.

Jayalalithaa said JICA's assistance to ongoing projects in Tamil Nadu includes the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Project being implemented at a total cost of Rs.345 crore (JICA line of credit is around Rs.300 crore); the Tamil Nadu Bio Diversity Conservation and Greening Project at a total cost of Rs.700 crore; and the Chennai Metro Rail Project for which JICA loan is Rs.8,646 crore.

Expressing satisfaction at the progress of these projects, she also hoped that JICA would consider partnering with the state and funding next year projects like the Chennai Waterways Restoration Project, components of the State Highways Development Project, upgrading Urban Infrastructure in Extended Areas of Chennai, and the Madurai-Thoothukudi Industrial Corridor.

Jayalalithaa requested JICA to assist the Project Preparation Fund of the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board so as to help project development of bankable public-private-partnership (PPP) projects.

She also requested JICA on the possibility of a separate line of credit for viability gap funding by the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Fund to implement PPP projects and also provide long term financing directly to private sector developers to enable them to reach financial closure early.

During the meeting, Tanaka said Tamil Nadu has great potential to become the hub of industrial growth in the Indian Ocean region and promised support for infrastructure projects in the state.