With the Assembly polls round the corner in Tamil Nadu, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of projects, including the mega 3,500-km-long National Highway works in the State with an investment of ₹1.03 lakh crore.
To further augment road infrastructure, more economic corridors are also being planned. This includes the 3,500 km of National Highway works in Tamil Nadu at an investment of ₹1.03 lakh crore, she announced.
She also announced the Chennai Metro Railway Phase-II of 118.9 km at a cost of ₹63,246 crore. Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami in a memorandum recently to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged be approved at 50:50 equity sharing model on the same pattern as Phase-I.
The Finance Minister also announced in the Budget the Chennai – Salem corridor: 277 km expressway will be awarded, and construction would start in 2021-22. She also announced the Bengaluru – Chennai Expressway of 278 km will be initiated in the current financial year. Construction will begin in 2021-22
Fishing harbour
In fisheries, Sitharaman proposed substantial investments in the development of modern fishing harbours and fish landing centres. To start with, five major fishing harbours – Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Petuaghat – will be developed as hubs of economic activity.
Seaweed farming is an emerging sector with the potential to transform the lives of coastal communities. It will provide large scale employment and additional incomes. “To promote seaweed cultivation, I propose a Multipurpose Seaweed Park to be established in Tamil Nadu,” she said.