The Tamil Nadu government has initiated steps to develop three stretches of the Cooum riverfront in Chennai, covering 3.7 km, with a consultant to prepare the detailed project report, engineering designs, cost estimates and maintenance plans for the proposed works.
The Chennai Rivers Transformation Company Ltd (CRTC) has sought consultancy services through the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Ltd (TNUIFSL). The consultant will also prepare tender documents for the riverfront works, excluding plantation activities, and is required to complete the assignment within 30 days of receiving the Letter of Award.
The three pilot stretches are Napier Bridge to the Cooum river mouth, covering 0.5 km; Swami Sivananda Salai to Periyar Bridge, covering 1.2 km; and Link Road to Dams Road, covering 2 km. Together, these sections represent the first identified package of the proposed riverfront intervention in central Chennai.
According to the terms of reference for the consultancy, the DPR will examine the condition of the river, encroachments, sewage outfalls and surrounding land use. It will then set out detailed engineering designs, drawings, cost estimates and maintenance plans for the proposed works. Concept plans for all three stretches are already under preparation.
The project comes against a long-running deterioration of the Cooum’s urban environment, with rapid urbanisation, encroachments, untreated wastewater and solid-waste accumulation affecting the waterway and its surrounding areas. The proposed riverfront works are intended to improve the interface between the river and the city while creating accessible public spaces along the selected stretches.
Plantation works are being handled separately from the present consultancy assignment. The Greater Chennai Corporation has prepared and tendered the plantation plan for the Napier Bridge–river mouth stretch and the Swami Sivananda Salai–Periyar Bridge stretch. The plantation plan for the Link Road–Dams Road stretch is expected to be tendered shortly.
The division of responsibilities makes the DPR a technical and financial framework for the wider riverfront works, rather than a plantation contract. The consultant’s assessment will need to account for the physical condition of the river edge, existing wastewater outlets, land-use patterns and encroachments before construction details and project costs are finalised.
The three locations also connect the riverfront initiative to heavily used parts of central Chennai, including the area around Napier Bridge, the Cooum river mouth, Swami Sivananda Salai, Periyar Bridge, Link Road and Dams Road. The selected stretches therefore combine environmental improvement with the planned redevelopment of public-facing urban edges.
The immediate next step is the appointment of the consultant by CRTC through the TNUIFSL-led procurement process. Once the Letter of Award is issued, the consultant will have 30 days to complete the DPR and tender documents. The Greater Chennai Corporation’s pending plantation tender for the Link Road–Dams Road stretch is another near-term milestone.
