ADB approves loan worth $451 million for strengthening power connectivity along CKIC

ADB has agreed to provide a $451 million loan to strengthen power connectivity between the southern and northern parts of the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC). The project will allow more power, including renewable energy, to be transferred from new generation facilities in the south CKIC to the north, where it is most in demand. Of the total project cost of $653.5 million, the government will provide $202.5 million. Tamil Nadu is aiming to develop the Chennai-Tiruchirappalli stretch of the CKIC as a manufacturing centre and the relatively backward Madurai-Tuticorin stretch for renewable energy-based power generation because of the availability of wind and solar resources in the region. ADB has approved a complementary technical assistance grant of $650,000 from its Technical Assistance Special Fund.