CHENNAI: To stop Chennai roads from being dug up continuously by various agencies for work without any coordination, the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) has floated a Rs 100-crore tender for creating a digital platform for web-based project management and (Geographic Information System) GIS-based software to integrate infrastructure spending across 18 agencies.
If a trench is dug up for underground sewage work, other departments can also use it for laying optical fibre cable, water line, or power cables without them having to dig up the spot again and again causing nuisance to road users and residents. This could also help save a lot of time and money, CUMTA special officer I Jayakumar told TNIE.
For better traffic management, public safety
Under the new technology, each agency can decide the scope, schedule and budget of their infrastructure programmes by sharing information through a common database. The database will also track the lifecycle of each project and generate performance indicators. The World Bank-funded project will also help protect investments by preventing damage to infrastructure and offer incentive to combine projects for cost-effective contracting by various agencies.
It will help in traffic management and public safety by regulating duration of projects, Jayakumar said. He also said a gap analysis will be done to find how integration can be brought about in works carried out by the 18 departments. A detailed project report will be prepared by the consultant and a tender will be finalised for selecting a system integrator who will prepare the software and host it, he said.