CHENNAI: Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has floated a tender for a combined feasibility study and detailed project report (DPR) for a proposed 70-km water metro corridor connecting Ennore in the north with Mahabalipuram in the south along the Buckingham Canal, giving Chennai’s long-pending plans for water-based public transport a significant push.
The consultancy, estimated at `7.43 crore, will be awarded through a quality- and cost-based selection process and is expected to take eight months. The selected consultant will first prepare a detailed feasibility report before proceeding with the DPR, which is expected to include tender-ready designs, cost estimates and technical specifications.
The first phase will assess whether the proposed corridor can support a viable passenger service. It will involve studying existing conditions, forecasting passenger demand and carrying out hydrological, hydraulic and hydrographic investigations, besides a LiDAR survey, an advanced remote-sensing technique.
The study will also examine flood risks, navigation conditions and environmental and social impacts, including water quality. It will culminate in conceptual plans for passenger terminals, financial and economic assessments, and identification of stretches that could be taken up for early implementation.
The second phase will turn the preferred alignment into an execution plan, covering detailed engineering and geotechnical investigations, utility mapping, construction methodology, cost estimates and technical specifications. The final DPR is expected to be detailed enough to serve as the basis for future construction tenders.
The project draws on the experience of Kochi, which operates the country’s first water metro system. For Chennai, however, the idea has been on the drawing board for years.
Successive plans have sought to use the Adyar and Cooum rivers, Buckingham Canal and Kosasthalaiyar as transport corridors, as part of efforts to diversify a mobility network increasingly strained by road and rail congestion.
An earlier attempt was made under the National Waterways programme, with a DPR commissioned to examine the integration of stretches of National Waterway 4, which runs through Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, into an inland water transport network.
More recently, the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) recommended a water-based transit corridor between East Coast Road and Napier Bridge in its Comprehensive Mobility Plan, with the aim of easing congestion and encouraging commuters to shift to low-emission transport.
Last year, the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department prepared a preliminary estimate of `2,388 crore to restore the 167-km Buckingham Canal, which runs from Pazhaverkadu in Tiruvallur district to Marakkanam in Villupuram.
Reviving the waterway, once an important navigation route in south India, is part of a wider effort to improve inland transport and strengthen coastal resilience. Officials have also viewed the project as a means of easing road congestion, promoting local commerce and improving climate resilience along the coast.
However, several challenges remain. Pollution, encroachments along riverbanks, shallow channels and fluctuating water flows have long hindered regular passenger navigation.
Several earlier pilot proposals were also shelved after feasibility studies raised questions over their economic viability.
Several challenges remain
Pollution, encroachments along riverbanks, shallow channels and fluctuating water flows have long hindered regular passenger navigation. Several earlier pilot proposals were also shelved after feasibility studies raised questions over economic viability. However, officials view the project as a means of easing road congestion