Chennai Metro Phase 2 Gets Record Funding

28 Apr 2025 CW Team

In a major boost to urban infrastructure, Rs 84.45 billion has been sanctioned for the Chennai Metro Phase 2 project this financial year — the highest allocation received by any metro project across India so far.

This significant progress follows the Centre’s decision in October 2024 to categorise the project as a centrally-assisted initiative, ending over three years of financial clearance delays that earlier forced Tamil Nadu to fund the project independently.

Initially, the Tamil Nadu government had expressed reluctance to shoulder the entire borrowing burden, fearing an adverse impact on its debt ceiling. This situation had also led to payment delays of up to 10–14 days for contractors.

However, with the Centre stepping in, financial hurdles have been effectively cleared. A senior official from Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) mentioned that contractor invoices typically range from Rs 200 million for elevated corridors to Rs 400 million for underground sections.

In another major development, the long-pending Airport–Kilambakkam Metro Corridor has received approval from the Tamil Nadu state government. The 15.4 km extension project is estimated to cost around Rs 93.35 billion. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been forwarded to the Centre for its final approval.

Meanwhile, industry experts and stakeholders can look forward to the 5th edition of InnoMetro, India’s leading rail transportation expo. Explore the latest innovations in rail safety, infrastructure, signalling, and AI at the event.

Real Estate

02 Apr 2026

Indian real estate attracts USD 1.4 bn institutional investments in Q1 2026: Vestian

Institutional investments in India’s real estate sector touched USD 1.4 billion in Q1 2026, marking the highest first-quarter inflow since 2022, according to Vestian. While investments fell 62 per cent quarter-on-quarter due to an exceptionally high base in the previous quarter, they rose 74 per cent compared to the same period last year, reflecting sustained investor confidence despite rising geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges.Commercial real estate remained the key driver of investment activity during the quarter, accounting for 80 per cent of total inflows, sharply higher than 38 p..

VECV crosses 1 lakh annual vehicle sales milestone in FY26

VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, has surpassed the 1 lakh annual sales mark in FY 2025–26, recording its highest-ever commercial vehicle sales performance. The company said it sold more than 100,000 vehicles during the year, marking a major milestone aligned with the original vision of the Volvo–Eicher joint venture.The strong performance was supported by demand across categories. Light and Medium Duty (LMD) trucks contributed 47,789 units, accounting for 46.1 per cent of total sales. Heavy Duty (HD) trucks recorded 26,867 units (25.9 pe..

Rodic Digital & Advisory partners SatSure to deploy EO intelligence in public sector

Rodic Digital & Advisory (RDA), the strategic advisory and digital transformation arm of Rodic Consultants, has signed a strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SatSure to jointly pursue opportunities in India’s public sector. The collaboration aims to integrate high-resolution Earth Observation (EO) data and geospatial AI into government workflows to strengthen monitoring, compliance, and operational decision-making across key sectors.The partnership combines SatSure’s Earth intelligence capabilities with RDA’s expertise in government digital transformation and ..