A PMO statement on Friday said these projects, including the launch of a Chennai Metro project and a petrochemical complex in Kerala, will add crucial momentum to the growth trajectory of these states and help hasten the pace for them to realise their full development potential. 

In Chennai, Modi will hand over to the Army the state-of-the-art the Arjun tank, which has been indigenously designed and developed, and manufactured by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, DRDO along with 15 academic institutions, eight labs and several MSMEs, it noted. 

Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are expected to be held in April-May. During his visit, the prime minister will inaugurate the Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I extension, completed at a cost of Rs 3,770 crore, and commission passenger services from Washermenpet to Wimco Nagar. 

This 9.05 km long extension will link North Chennai with the Airport and Central Railway Station. 

The PMO said he will also inaugurate the fourth railway line between Chennai Beach and Attipattu stations. 

This 22.1 km section, laid at a cost of Rs 293.40 crore, traverses through Chennai and Thiruvallur districts and will ease up traffic from Chennai Port. 

This section connects the Chennai Port and Ennore Port, and passes through major yards, providing operational flexibility for the movement of trains, the PMO said. 

Modi will inaugurate the electrification of a single-line section of 228 km, completed at a cost of Rs 423 crore. This will enable free flow of traffic without the need for a change of traction between Chennai Egmore and Kanyakumari and would result in saving of Rs 14.61 lakh per day on fuel cost, it added. 

He will also lay the foundation stone for the extension, renovation and modernization of the Grand Anicut Canal System and the Discovery Campus of IIT Madras. 

The canal is important for irrigation in the delta districts and the modernization exercise will cost Rs 2,640 crore, leading to an improvement in its water-carrying capacity. 

The Discovery Campus of IIT Madras will be built at Thaiyur near Chennai at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore in the first phase over an area of 2 lakh sqm.