CHENNAI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday inaugurated Chennai’s fifth reservoir at Thervoy Kandigai and laid foundation stones for various state and central government projects, including phase II of Chennai Metro Rail at Rs 67,378 crore.
The event took place at Kalaivanar Arangam in the presence of chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam.
Former chief minister J Jayalalithaa laid the foundation stone for the reservoir in 2012, linking two tanks, Kannakottai and Thervoy Kandigai in Tiruvallur district, to meet the drinking water requirements of Chennai.
The Rs 380crore reservoir has been built to store 1tmcft of water (0.5tmcft in two fillings a year). An off-take channel has been built from Kandaleru-Poondi channel for about 8.6km to divert Krishna water to the reservoir, and the metrowater has planned to avail 66 million litre per day for supply.
The phase II of the metro rail consists of three corridors of 118.9km, connecting Madhavaram and SIPCOT, Siruseri, Light House and Poonamallee bypass, and Madhavaram and Sholinganallur. The Rs 61,842crore project has been extensively funded by the multilateral banks, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Asian Development Bank, New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Amit Shah also laid foundation stone for the AIADMK government’s elevated highway project along Avinashi Road in Coimbatore at Rs 1,620 crore, barrage across the Cauvery in Nanjai Pugalur in Karur at Rs 406 crore and expansion of Chennai Trade Centre at Rs 309 crore. The central government projects included Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s Rs 900crore Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant (POL) terminal at Vallur, a Rs 1,400crore lube plant at Amullaivoyal and Rs 900crore new jetty at Kamarajar Port.