PUDUCHERRY: Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Friday announced a major infrastructure development drive, with the centre providing a Rs 200 crore special assistance and a Rs 4,750 crore soft loan approved by Asian Development Bank (ADB).
At a press conference with Public Works Department (PWD) Minister K Lakshminarayanan, he said that a detailed project report for 14 infrastructure works worth Rs 129.56 crore has been already approved by the centre. The projects are expected to begin shortly and will be completed by March 2026. Alongside this, projects worth Rs 5 crore from the state government's funds have been instructed to be completed. “We are going to revise the projects for the remaining Rs 80 crore and send them back to the Central Government," he said.
Approved projects include the completion of the long-pending road over bridge across the Uppanar canal, underground power cabling from JIPMER to Venkatanagar substation, installation of 50 community reverse osmosis plants, construction of bus shelters, laying of Astroturf hockey field and synthetic athletic track, and road improvements. New government buildings also feature in the plan.
The larger ADB-funded initiative will focus on critical sectors including drinking water, sewerage, and roads. One of the key projects includes two desalination plants at Rs 1000 crores. As per the agreement between the Puducherry government and the Tamil Nadu government, a Rs 350 crore project has been planned to supply water to 140 kilometers by laying a pipeline from the Sathanur dam to Bahour and kirumampakkam lakes beneath Penniyar river.
Apart from this, Rs 250 crore is allocated to build underground sewers, and Rs 189 crore for development of roads in Puducherry government departments. The portfolio will be allotted to the minister at any time, the CM said.
A 100 MLD water treatment plant will also be built at Sankarabarani River to implement a 24x7 “drink from the tap” scheme. Two 50 MLD desalination plants will also be set up at Dubrayapet.
Urban renewal projects will include expansion of the iconic Puducherry Promenade from the Old Port to Chunambar and Muthialpet. An elevated corridor between Marapalam and Ariyankuppam Junction has been planned to ease traffic congestion. Improvements to pedestrian infrastructure on Nehru Street, M.G. Road, and Mission Street, and construction of multilevel parking facilities at the Old Jail Complex and Grand Canal, are also on the anvil.
The government plans to link commune headquarters like Bahour, Nettapakkam, and Mannadipet, Sedarapet and Kalapet, to the new National Highway from Kunimedu to Thiruvandarkoil to improve road connectivity. Villianur and Murungapakkam will be connected to the Villupuram–Nagapattinam bypass, with the widening of 50 km road and land acquistion.