Surat-Chennai economic corridor runs into green hurdle

24 Aug 2022 CW Team

A key segment of the ambitious Surat-Chennai economic corridor has hit a serious ecological hurdle. The nearly Rs 140 billion project has run into trouble with the Union Environment Ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for infrastructure projects over its proposed 290 km long greenfield Surat-Nashik-Ahmednagar section, which falls in pristine and untouched areas of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.

The EAC has, in a July 21-22 meeting, said that the stakeholder ministry/department should upgrade along the existing National Highway alignment instead of running into 'virgin and ecologically sensitive new parts of Western Ghat areas'.

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are preparing to 'appeal' with the Environment ministry to reconsider its view and allow leeway for the national connectivity project which will ultimately link up Delhi to Chennai through an access-controlled corridor.

The project has been a major political and economic talking point for the infrastructure boost it will bring to the region.

"We will appeal with the EAC. Packages for so many segments linking up to this corridor have already been awarded. This was to be an access-controlled expressway - a key link off the Golden Quadrilateral for national connectivity. We are very mindful of environmental concerns and have always prioritised them and the new alignment will in fact reduce affected area and use modern technology to minimise environmental damage. However, there is no other alternative alignment possible and upgrading the existing one defeats the very purpose of the corridor," a senior official was reported to have said.

Infrastructure Urban

09 Jan 2026

Teknovace, Remmers Forge Rs 3 Bn Deal for Global Coatings Hub

Teknovace has entered into a strategic global partnership with Germany-based Remmers Gruppe SE to build a large-scale, export-oriented wood coatings manufacturing platform in India. As part of the alliance, Remmers will make a strategic equity investment of Rs 3 billion to acquire a 50.01 per cent stake in Teknovace in two tranches, marking one of the largest foreign strategic investments in India’s wood coatings sector.The partnership comes at a time when India’s wood coatings market, valued at around $1.3 billion (Rs 100 billion), is growing at an estimated 11% annually, driven by demand..

Jyoti Structures Commissions Galvanisation at Second Nashik Unit

Jyoti Structures has commissioned galvanisation operations at its second tower manufacturing unit in Nashik, strengthening its in-house capabilities across critical stages of power transmission infrastructure production. The listed Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company operates globally and has delivered projects for customers across more than 50 countries.The second Nashik unit, with an annual manufacturing capacity of 36,000 metric tonnes, has become operational following the completion of installation, testing and readiness of the new galvanising facilities. With this deve..

Rosatom Connects First Kursk NPP-2 Unit to National Grid

Rosatom has launched the first power unit of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2 (Kursk NPP-2) into Russia’s Unified Energy System, marking a key milestone in the country’s nuclear energy programme. The initial grid connection took place at the end of the year, bringing a new source of low-carbon electricity online for the Kursk region and the broader Central Energy System.The newly commissioned unit is the first implementation of the VVER-TOI reactor design, which incorporates advanced safety and performance features. With an installed capacity of 1,250 MW, it is the most powerful nuclear pow..