ADB Loans Funds to upgrade road network in Tamil Nadu industrial corridor
The project is important to seamless road connection among industries, transit gates, and consumer centres and to cut logistics and production costs for the targeted industries of CKIC.
Key Highlights:
- The CKIC region includes 23 of the 32 districts between Chennai and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu; it will upgrade roughly 590 km of state highway.
- The overarching aim is the development of critical transport, energy, and urban infrastructure to promote industrial transformation.
- CKIC is part of the Economic Corridor of India East Coast (ECEC)
On Wednesday, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Indian government agreed a loan of $484 million in support for transportation connectivity improvement and industrial development in the Tamil Nadu Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC).
CKIC belongs to the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) of India, stretching from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu, connecting India with South, South-East, and East Asia industrial networks. ADB is the government’s primary partner for the development of the ECEC in India.
The Tamil Nadu Industrial Connectiveness Project agreement was reached on behalf of the Government of India by Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs.
“The project is critical to ensuring a secure road link for industry clusters, transportation gates, and consuming centres while helping CKIC’s target sectors to decrease logistics and production cost to improve competitiveness,” Mishra said.
“The project is part of the key infrastructure projects specified under the comprehensive development plan funded by the ADB,” Konishi added. “The overarching aim is to stimulate industrial transformation by providing critical transport, energy and urban infrastructure for the holistic development of industrial centres of growth.”
The project would improve about 590 km of state roads across the CKIC impact regions, including 23 of the 32 Chennai-Kanyakumari districts in Tamil Nadu. The increased links between industrial centres and ports will assist, especially, boost Indian manufacturing’s engagement in global production networks and global value chains and therefore create employment throughout the corridor.
The project focuses on sustainability, resistance to climate change, and road safety following Strategy 2030, the long-term business strategy of ADB. Long-term maintenance of road improvements is subject to seven-year contracts. Climate change adaptation measures, such as enhanced drainage, elevated road terrain in key areas, bridges, and culvert resizing, will be integrated with road renovations.
The initiative also will enhance road safety initiatives by using modern road surveillance and enforcement technology. Furthermore, Tamil Nadu’s Department of Highways and Lesser Hardways will strengthen its planning capability.
While maintaining its efforts to reduce extreme poverty, ADB is dedicated to achieving affluent, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia-Pacific. It has 68 members, 49 in the area, which was established in 1966.
