The Chennai Corporation might award the contract for the implementation of the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Installation Project in the Chennai Metropolitan Area. According to an official, three companies had submitted bids on 10 June, and a technical evaluation is underway, which will be finalised in a couple of months. The project cost of Rs 904.88 crore will be funded jointly by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the state government. Initially, the project cost was Rs 660 crore. However, after the meeting with all stakeholders, including the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) and police department, components, including the speed limit violation system and red light violation detection, were incorporated. The project has some major components, including the Traffic Information and Management System (TIMS) and the City Bus System (CBS). Under TIMS, an adaptive traffic signal control system will be installed at 165 junctions and change the signals based on real-time traffic. The 165 junctions would also have signboards, road markings and other little alterations. Moreover, a traffic incident detection system will be installed at 58 locations to detect abnormal traffic activity, including accidents, and alert the concerned officials. The variable message system in 17 places will be set up through electronic display panels that will inform drivers about the traffic on the roads ahead. TIMS will also include an automatic traffic counters-cum-classifier system in 115 locations and a probe set to study the traffic movement and plan projects. These functions will be managed by a command and control centre. The bus system will have another command and control centre to monitor the system in 3,500 buses, a passenger information system in 71 terminals and 532 bus shelters and a management system in 31 depots. The bus monitoring system and passenger information system are linked and will help passengers know the real-time movement of buses. Under the depot management system, MTC can also monitor the efficiency of their employees. Image Source Also read: MTHL road to be upgraded to intelligent transportation system