Chennai Outer Ring Road (ORR), Tamil Nadu, India

Chennai's Outer Ring Road (ORR) is a 62.3km project being constructed around the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Tamil Nadu, India. The project will connect the GST Road starting at Vandalur to the TPP Road, ending at Minjur. The key objective of the project is to allow heavy vehicles to journey outside of the city, minimising traffic congestion within the city central areas.

Land for the project was acquired in two phases. Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) acquired land for the first phase and took possession of 29.65km of land between national highway (NH) 45 and NH205, covering 29 villages. The second phase of acquiring land in 28 villages between NH205 and TPP Road was 95% complete by the time March 2012 came around.

The project is expected to boost real estate prices and commercial activities in the surrounding areas.

A detailed feasibility report (DFR) for the development of the ORR has been completed. A detailed project report (DPR) will be prepared after the DFR is approved by the government. The project extends up to an area of 545.08ha with total estimated cost of approximately Rs20bn ($380m approximately).

In August 2009, a consortium of GMR Group and NAPC received the order to construct the first phase of the ORR project.

Four construction phases for the Chennai ORR traffic project

Each phase of the project consists of two segments.

The first phase comprises of segment one and segment two. Segment one involves construction of the Vandalur-Nazarathpet Road at a length of 19.7km, occupying 265.34ha, while segment two includes construction of the Nazarathpet-Nemilicherry Road, at a length of 9.5km, spreading over 140.9ha. Construction on this phase began in August 2010 and is expected to be completed by December 2012.

The second phase includes segments three and four. Segment three involves construction of the 19.1km Nemilicherry-Nallur Road, spread across 258.02ha, whereas segment four will see the construction of 14km Nallur-Minjur Road over an area of 195.8ha.The second phase was approved in January 2012 and construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2012.

Design and lanes included as part of the Chennai outer ring road in India

The outer ring road will be 122m wide. Of this, the road and rail corridor will constitute 72m while 50m will be left for future developments, such as public facilities and commercial set-ups. The 72m road and rail corridor will be divided into a 50m road and a 22m railway.

The 50m road will have a two-way transportation corridor, with three lanes on either side and two service lanes. The remaining 22m space will be used for the future mass rapid system / light rail transit system.

The ORR will connect the NH4, NH45 and NH205 highways, from Vandalur in the south to Nemilicherry in the north of Chennai.

Contractors linked with the traffic congestion project in Tamil Nadu

In August 2009, the lowest bidders, the GMR Group and NAPC consortium, bagged the contract worth Rs11bn ($228m) for the construction of phase one of the Chennai ORR project.

Under the contract, the consortium is constructing the 29.65km highway on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis for an annuity.

GMR Group holds a 90% stake and NAPC a ten percent stake in the consortium.

The first phase has a concession period of 20 years and has to be completed in 30 months. The contract is for 30 years, including three years for construction and the remaining 27 years for operation and maintenance of the highway. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 or early 2013.

According to GMR officials, GMR and NAPC will be directly involved in some of the construction works, while the rest will be contracted out.

Finances behind India's Chennai ORR development

The first phase of the 29.65km transportation corridor will be taken up by the consortium. Being a public-private partnership, the Tamil Nadu government will provide Rs3bn support fund to be included in the promoter's contribution in the project. The remaining funds will be secured through debt and equity.

According to GMR Highways managing director and GMR Infrastructure director O Bangaru Raju, the project will be financed through about Rs 665bn of debt, with the rest equity, apart from government financing.