Chennai - Tiruvannamalai Greenfield Expressway Announced; Land Acquisition Soon
The Tamil Nadu government has officially announced a new greenfield expressway connecting Chennai and Tiruvannamalai via Cheyyar SIPCOT and Desur. The proposed corridor will stretch approximately 140–142 km and will largely follow the alignment of the earlier shelved Chennai–Salem expressway project.
The project will be implemented in two phases. Phase I will connect Oragadam (at the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road) to Cheyyar SIPCOT along Mangal Koot Road. Phase II will extend from Manampathi to Tiruvannamalai via Desur. The Government Order (G.O.) for land acquisition in Phase II is expected shortly.
The expressway is expected to significantly reduce travel time between Chennai and Tiruvannamalai from about 4.5 hours to nearly 2.5 hours. It will also provide direct connectivity from major SIPCOT industrial zones to Kattupalli Port and Ennore Port, strengthening logistics and export movement. The highway can also be extended towards Salem in the future. Additionally, a new SIPCOT industrial zone may be proposed along the Cheyyar–Tiruvannamalai corridor.
Around 307.95 acres of land will be acquired across four taluks - Cheyyar, Vandavasi, Keezhpennathur and Tiruvannamalai. This includes 7 villages in Cheyyar taluk, 14 in Vandavasi, 8 in Keezhpennathur and 5 in Tiruvannamalai taluk. Compensation assessment is currently underway, and official land acquisition orders are expected soon.
Earlier plans had considered extending the Cheyyar industrial corridor up to Vellore, but the proposal has now been revised to connect it to Tiruvannamalai instead, aiming to boost regional development and industrial expansion.
