Chennai, Oct 10 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch development projects worth over ₹13,000 crore during a visit to Chennai on Sunday, with a new Metro corridor, highway improvements and port infrastructure forming key components of the programme. The projects cover Metro rail, highways, railways, ports, petroleum and education, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday. PM Modi will inaugurate completed facilities, dedicate projects to the nation and lay foundation stones for new works.

Among the major launches is the ₹4,900-crore Poonamallee–Vadapalani stretch of Chennai Metro’s Phase II. Featuring a 3.7-km double-decker structure and signalling systems designed for driverless operations, the corridor is expected to improve connectivity between the western suburbs and the city centre. PM Modi is scheduled to ride the Metro from Porur Bypass to Poonamallee Bypass and back at 11.30 a.m. He will visit Jalakandeswarar Temple at 12.15 p.m., followed by a walkthrough of the Brain Centre at IIT Madras.

Highway projects worth around ₹3,700 crore include the 36-km, four-lane Vadugapatti–Therkuvenganallur section of NH-744 and the 30-km Madurai Ring Road on NH-744A. He will also lay the foundation stone for the four-lane Thiruvarur Bypass on NH-83. Railway works worth over ₹750 crore include the Karaikal–Peralam line and three rail flyovers in and around Coimbatore. Redeveloped stations at Palani, Vellore Cantonment, Ambasamudram, Paramakkudi and Namakkal will also be inaugurated.

Port projects include upgraded storage, warehouses, cruise passenger facilities and a Seafarers Club at Chennai Port. Eight projects at V.O. Chidambaranar Port will support cargo capacity, cleaner maritime energy and logistics. At Kamarajar Port, PM Modi will inaugurate Coal Berth-3 and launch dredging works. He will lay the foundation stone for CPCL’s ₹1,620-crore lubricant base stocks project at Manali refinery, with an annual capacity of 270,000 tonnes.

At IIT-Madras, PM Modi will dedicate the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre and launch a mission to map more than 100 human brains into three-dimensional cellular atlases. He will also release C-STROKE, an atlas containing over 1,000 annotated microscopic sections from a stroke-affected brain. The atlas is intended to help researchers identify potential therapeutic targets, while the mapping mission will cover brains from foetuses to older adults. The main development programme and address are scheduled for 1.30 p.m. PM Modi will later attend the golden jubilee celebrations of Jaigopal Garodia Hindu Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School at 3 p.m.

--IANS