Massive JICA funding to give Chennai’s roads ‘intelligent’ edge

The tender, which was expected to be floated by January-end, has been delayed by almost 10 months with the government seeking some more improvements in the project.
A view of the traffic at Porur. There are expectations that the Intelligent Transport System would make Chennai’s roads safer | martin louis
A view of the traffic at Porur. There are expectations that the Intelligent Transport System would make Chennai’s roads safer | martin louis

CHENNAI: In a bid to make Chennai safer for motorists and commuters, the Tamil Nadu government is set to float a tender for the Rs 660-crore Chennai Metropolitan Area Intelligent Transport Systems Installation project.

The tender for the project, which will help build an efficient traffic system to meet the increasing  demands in Chennai Metropolitan Area, is likely to be floated after getting final approval from the Smart City Board (SCB), according to official sources. The tender, which was expected to be floated by January-end, has been delayed by almost 10 months with the government seeking some more improvements in the project.

“There were some modifications and improvements required by the SCB and once the consultant had done that, we will go ahead,” said the official. “The cost of the project will remain the same. Internally, we needed some changes,” said the official source. 

It is learnt that the SCB wanted the bus information system in more places. The system is being developed with GPS devices on government buses synchronised with geo-coded bus stops. Through this, passengers will get information on congestion status of the road network and the expected travel time on various routes. 

Interestingly, the detailed project report is ready. The share of Japanese bank JICA in the project is `465 crore while `195 crore will be provided by the State. The major components of the project include Chennai Traffic Information System, Traffic Management System, and City Bus System.

The Traffic Information and Management System will enhance traffic control and management and will provide effective traffic information. This includes setting up of Adaptive Traffic Signal Control System (ATCS) at 165 junctions. ATCS is a solution that adjusts the timings of traffic lights based on real-time traffic conditions.

The traffic management system will also have a Vehicle Incident Detection System at 58 locations. This would also include Red Light Violation Detection System at 50 junctions, Speed Limit Violation System at 10 locations, Automatic Traffic Counter and Classifier (ATCC) at 115 locations and the Probe and Internet System. The ATCC monitors real-time traffic flow of a road section, keeps count of vehicles, and classifies them according to their predefined classes.

It is learnt that once the Intelligent Transport System is put in place, traffic violations will reduce in Chennai. The Command and Control Centre of Chennai Traffic Information and Management System will be set up at Greater Chennai Police headquarters and a Command and Control Centre of City Bus System at MTC headquarters. Also, road users can select alternative routes based on information regarding road congestion and expected travel time.  

Incidentally, a robust intelligent transport system is also likely to be implemented under a project backed by German Bank KfW and Nirbhaya fund. Even the smart city project envisions an ITS system. All these need to be integrated. Meanwhile, experts urged that there is a need for technical expertise from the government in such massive projects.

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