Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate a key stretch of Chennai Metro Phase II and launch infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 13,000 crore in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, with the programme covering urban transport, highways, railways, ports and petroleum infrastructure.
Modi is expected to undertake a Metro ride from Porur Bypass to Poonamallee Bypass and back at around 11.30 am, according to a report by DT Next. He will later visit the Jalakandeswarar Temple and the Brain Centre at IIT Madras before launching the projects at around 1.30 pm.
The Poonamallee–Vadapalani Metro stretch has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 4,900 crore. The corridor includes a 3.7-km double-decker structure and advanced signalling systems designed to support driverless train operations. The stretch is expected to improve connectivity between Chennai’s western suburbs and the city centre and reduce travel time for commuters.
The Metro project is part of Chennai’s wider Phase II expansion, which is intended to extend rapid transit access beyond the existing network. The opening of the stretch will place additional focus on how the city connects fast-growing western suburbs with established employment, commercial and institutional areas in central Chennai.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for National Highway projects valued at around Rs 3,700 crore. These include the four-laning of the Vadugapatti–Therkuvenganallur section of NH-744, the Madurai Ring Road section of NH-744A and a proposed four-lane bypass at Thiruvarur on NH-83.
Railway projects worth more than Rs 750 crore will be dedicated to the nation. The projects include the Karaikal–Peralam railway line, three rail flyovers in and around Coimbatore, and the redevelopment of Amrit stations at Palani, Vellore Cantonment, Ambasamudram, Paramakkudi and Namakkal.
The programme also includes port infrastructure projects at Chennai Port, V O Chidambaranar Port and Kamarajar Port. At Chennai Port, the works include a paved storage yard, four export-import godowns, an upgraded cruise terminal and a seafarers’ club. The projects are intended to expand cargo-handling capacity and strengthen logistics infrastructure across Tamil Nadu’s port network.
At Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited’s Manali refinery, Modi will lay the foundation stone for a Rs 1,620 crore Group II/III lube oil base stocks project. The facility is planned to have an annual production capacity of 270,000 tonnes.
The Prime Minister will also dedicate the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre at IIT Madras and launch a global mission to map more than 100 human brains at cellular resolution across the lifespan. He is scheduled to release C-STROKE, an atlas containing more than 1,000 annotated microscopic sections of a stroke-affected brain.
Modi’s Chennai engagements are scheduled to conclude with the golden jubilee celebrations of Jaigopal Garodia Hindu Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School at around 3 pm, where he will address the gathering.
