New Chennai-Bangalore road to cut 100 kms

The travelling time between Chennai and Bangalore by road could get shorter with the governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka evaluating possibilities of reducing distance between the two cities to about 250km from the present 350km, with plans also afoot to promote this route as an industrial and manufacturing hub. A pre-feasibility study has already been completed in this respect by management and engineering consultancy, Mott Macdonald. While financial details of the project are not available, it is expected to be in two phases, with the Chennai-Bangalore corridor being developed in the first phase, followed by the Bangalore-Mumbai corridor. “Apart from developing a freight corridor, there are plans of making the entire stretch an industrial and commercial hub,” said Rajeev Ranjan, principal secretary, industries department, Government of Tamil Nadu. There would also be rail linkages along the route. According to officials, active discussions are on with their counterparts in Karnataka. This would not be part of the Golden Quadrilateral, they clarified. “As far as the route, we are working on various permutations and combinations. We are also evaluating the shortest route of 250 km,” added Ranjan. Auto and electronic firms are expected to develop along the corridor. Officials also added that if a new route was developed between the two cities, it would lead to development of new townships and SEZs (special economic zones) along the way. Already, the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam belt on the NH4 is lined with big players from the automobile industry and EMS (electronic manufacturing services) companies like Nokia, Flextronics and consumer electronics majors like Samsung. On the Bangalore side, it is dotted by the huge campuses of tech titans like Infosys and Wipro, including those in the Electronics City. Just outside Bangalore limits in Hosur (part of Tamil Nadu), automotive companies like Ashok Leyland and TVS Motor have their manufacturing units. The development of this stretch is further expected to give a fillip to industry in both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka along underdeveloped stretches at Chittoor.