New Delhi (NVI): Government has signed a $451 million loan with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to strengthen power connectivity between the southern and northern parts of the Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC), which is part of the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) in Tamil Nadu.
The objective of this agreement is to establish extra-high-voltage transmission link between Virudhunagar and Coimbatore to transfer additional generation capacity of 9,000 MW, including 6,000 MW from renewables by 2025 to meet the increased power demand in the CKIC.
This will help reliably evacuate power from these new power plants in the southern CKIC.
The agreement was signed between the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB) Sameer Kumar Khare and Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission Kenichi Yokoyama.
Speaking on the occasion Khare said that the project will help the Tamil Nadu government to meet the increasing demand for power supply from industry and commercial enterprises in the state through transfer of power from new generation facilities, including renewable energy, in the southern CKIC to the industrial hubs in the state’s northern region.
Kenichi Yokoyama said that the project will provide an impetus to the industrial development of CKIC, which ADB has been assisting through strategic planning and investments in infrastructure while facilitating industrial investments.
“They are expected to enhance industrial competitiveness while creating well paid jobs to support the state’s rapid economic transformation,” Yokoyama added.
ADB is the lead partner of the central government for developing ECEC.
Tamil Nadu has identified quality infrastructure including a reliable power supply as a key prerequisite for its further economic development.
The state is aiming to develop the northern Chennai–Tiruchirappalli area of CKIC as a manufacturing centre while targeting the relatively poor southern Madurai–Thoothukudi portion for the development of renewable energy-based power generation because of the availability of wind and solar resources.
The project will also build the operational capacity of TANTRANSCO, the state-owned company responsible for transmission, by supporting a financial restructuring plan, better facilities and work environment for women workers, and improved monitoring system for social and environmental impacts.
To support this end, ADB has approved a complementary technical assistance grant of $650,000.
-sb
