Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to ‘prioritise’ the coastal road project stretching approximately 200 km from Ennore in north Chennai, via Mahabalipuram, to Puducherry.
The project, which entails an elevated coastal road aligned with the Bay of Bengal, aims to improve connectivity along the state’s iconic East Coast while easing pressure on the congested East Coast Road (ECR).
The road distance between Chennai and Puducherry is around 165 km, and the journey takes 3 to 3.5 hours via the congested ECR or Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). The ECR currently handles heavy tourist, local and commercial traffic, and the proposed coastal road is further expected to improve industrial and port connectivity and boost tourism.
Aadhav Arjuna, the minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports, announced the plan in the Tamil Nadu Assembly while responding to the demands for grants for his departments. He stated that a feasibility study for the coastal corridor was initiated in the 2025-26 financial year but it did not see progress. The TVK-led government, he said, will now prioritise and accelerate the work on this corridor, which he said, will boost the city’s infrastructure, ease the traffic and benefit the state for the next 100 years.
The corridor is planned to be a modern, elevated road, drawing inspiration from projects such as the Mumbai-Navi Mumbai sea-link and Mumbai’s coastal road.
Senior officials with the Highways department said that the sea link will be developed in phases and designed with eco-friendly construction techniques to minimise impact on marine ecosystems and the coastal environment. The project will be initiated after obtaining a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance.
This is not the first time such a project is proposed. In 2025, then highways minister E.V. Velu had announced plans for a sea-link from Ennore to Poonjeri near Mahabalipuram on the ECR, extending up to 90 km depending on the final alignment.
A feasibility report was being prepared with input from experts including a few from IIT-Madras and preliminary cost estimated for that stretch was around Rs 27,600 crore. The project was planned to be executed in three phases and an initial allocation of about Rs 3.8 crore was made for the feasibility study. The current proposal extends the project further to Puducherry, instead of concluding it at Mahabalipuram, creating a longer coastal corridor.
The corridor is expected to link industrial centres, tourist destinations, harbours and urban centres along the coast. Given that the alignment of the proposed sea link would run along offshore from the coast, there is limited land acquisition required, as the densely populated residential or fishing areas would be avoided.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government is also planning to introduce a Water Metro facility with the aim of developing a modern inland water transport system along the historic Buckingham Canal, between Ennore in north Chennai and Mahabalipuram in the south.
Currently, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has floated tenders for a Detailed Feasibility Report (DFR) and Detailed Project Report (DPR) to assess the viability of the corridor, which is estimated at around 70 km.
The study will examine canal restoration, which is identified as the major challenge due to siltation, encroachments and pollution, and further assess the navigability, ridership potential, terminal infrastructure, environmental and social impacts, cost estimates, financial models, and integration with existing modes such as Metro Rail, MRTS, buses and suburban trains. If found feasible, the system is envisioned as an air-conditioned, metro-like passenger boat service similar to Kochi Water Metro.
The proposed Water Metro would also provide an alternative north-south public transport option, ease pressure on parallel roads, support tourism and recreation. The feasibility report is expected by mid 2027 after the contract is awarded, following which the government will decide on implementation.
(Edited by Prakhar Agrawal)