The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (August 8, 2025) approved the construction of the 4-lane wide, 46-km long Marakkanam to Puducherry stretch of the East Coast Road in the State.
Of the 45 km, 34.7 km would be a bypass constructed for Puducherry. It would be a Greenfield, access-controlled one. The annual average daily traffic in FY-25 is estimated at 17,800 Passenger Car Units (PCU).
The project, that will be part of the Chennai–Puducherry–Nagapattinam-Tuticorin-Kanyakumari Economic Corridor, will be developed on hybrid annuity mode (HAM) at a total capital cost of ₹2,157 crore. The total civil cost of the project would be ₹1,118 crore and land acquisition will be ₹442 crore, said a press release.
Currently, connectivity between Chennai, Puducherry, Viluppuram and Nagapattinam is dependent on the existing two-lane wide National Highway 332A (NH-332A) and associated State Highways, which experience significant congestion due to high traffic volumes, especially in densely populated stretches and key towns along the corridor.
The project alignment integrates with two major National Highways (NH-32, NH-332) and two State Highways (SH-136, SH-203), and will enhance multi-modal integration by connecting with two railway stations (Puducherry and Chinnababusamudram), two airports (Chennai, Puducherry), and one minor port at Cuddalore, the release further said.
