In India, rapid urbanization in recent years has led to a rapid increase in the number of registered automobiles, expanding demand for road transportation, but public transportation infrastructure has not yet been developed. In particular, the Chennai metropolitan area has the fourth largest population in India (approximately 8.7 million people according to the 2011 census), and the city of Chennai is the most densely populated city in India (approximately 26,000 people per square kilometer according to the 2011 census), making economic losses due to traffic congestion, air pollution, noise and other automobile-related Pollution damage caused by automobiles, such as air pollution and noise, has become a problem. Under these circumstances, Japan has so far provided yen loans for the “Chennai Metro Construction Project Phase 1” for five terms, supporting the construction of a mass rapid transit system of approximately 53 km on two lines in the central Chennai metropolitan area. Since then, however, the urbanization trend has been expanding into the suburban areas, and new urban transportation demands have been increasing mainly in the periphery of the Chennai metropolitan area.
This cooperation will build a mass rapid transit system in the Chennai metropolitan area in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu to meet increasing transportation demand and contribute to regional economic development and urban environmental improvement by easing traffic congestion and reducing automobile pollution.
© Source JICA