Thaindian News

Chennai, Jan 12 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government has decided to strengthen the bridges and the roads connecting power equipment major Toshiba JSW Turbine and Generator Pvt Ltd’s plant and the Ennore Port here, an official said Thursday.

Toshiba JSW Turbine, a joint venture between Japan’s Toshiba group and India’s JSW group, is building a turbine and generator plant at Ennore at an outlay of around Rs.800 crore.

“The issue was raised by the Japanese delegation that met Chief Minister (J. Jayalalithaa) recently. We are in the process of addressing the problem. A detailed project report will be prepared for strengthening the bridges and the roads,” the official told IANS requesting anonymity.

As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the company with the state government, the latter should strengthen the roads and the bridges from the plant to the Ennore Port.

A power plant generator weighs around 450 tonnes and it could lead to a major problem if the bridges buckle under its weight.

However, the cost of road and bridge repairs turned out to be around Rs.100 crore, which made the government to procrastinate on the issue.

“The government has allocated around Rs.85 crore towards the repair of roads and bridges between Toshiba JSW’s plant and the Ennore Port,” the official said.

Recently, a business delegation led by Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yukio Edano met Jayalalithaa and raised the issue.

Assuring the delegation on improving the infrastructure, Jayalalithaa said the highways department was undertaking a study to form a separate road called the Northern Port Access Road.