Work is set to begin on the Rs1,000 crore (approximately $206m) Vandalur-Nemilichery Outer Ring Road Phase I project in the Indian city of Chennai.

The 30km long and 72m wide six-lane road will connect Grand Southern Trunk Road (NH-45), Madras-Bangalore High Road (NH 4) and Madras-Tirupathi High Road.

Work will be carried out by a GMR-led consortium on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.

Once completed, the ring road would ease the movement of heavy vehicles and container trucks on GST Road to Ennore and Chennai Port, reducing congestion in the city and on the Chennai Bypass.

After the initial preliminary, which will start shortly, major construction work is expected to begin in February 2010 and finish in 30 months.

Work on the Ring Road project’s phase II, a 32km road from Nemilichery to the Thiruvottiyur-Ponneri-Panchetti (TPP) Road in Minjur, is expected to start by the end of 2010.