Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II work between Sholinganallur and SIPCOT yet to be resumed

 

Work on the Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II Project on a stretch along OMR - from Sholinganallur to SIPCOT - is yet to resume after it came to a standstill following the termination of the contract of one of the subcontractors a few months ago.

The Corridor 3 starts as an underground network from Madhavaram to Taramani and from there scales up into an elevated network till SIPCOT. The construction along the stretch from Sholinganallur to SIPCOT commenced earlier last year, but came to a standstill after the subcontractor’s contract was terminated due to various reasons.

According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), a new contractor has been appointed, and the work will restart in a fortnight. “We are already working towards mobilising a few more resources, and it will be completed at the earliest. The work will be back in full swing shortly,” an official said.

Sources said that, so far, nearly 440 piers have been built between Sholinganallur and SIPCOT, and about 1,000 more piers have to be raised in the coming months. “Since most of the issues have been resolved, it is possible to make up for the lost time and we will be able to meet the deadline,” another official said.

A few months ago, the CMRL was grappling with the issue of cable theft along this stretch, because of which streetlights in some locations were out. “Since these cables are expensive, there were people who managed to get away with it frequently. These cables provided connections for streetlights. Once we realised it was happening, we stepped up the vigil and posted guards near barricades. This issue has been fixed now,” the official said.

Chennai Metro Rail, which is undertaking the ₹61,843 crore Phase II Project, will construct one of the corridors (Corridor 3) along OMR for the project. It has been designed in such a way that it starts in the north at Madhavaram, crosses several key locations, including Purasawalkam, Nungambakkam, Adyar, and extends till SIPCOT in Siruseri.

Corridor 4 (from Poonamallee to Light House via Kodambakkam), and Corridor 5 (from Madhavaram to Sholinganallur) are also part of the Phase II Project.