The road from Chennai to Puducherry along the coast is being widened in pieces by two governments. The national highway packages south of Mamallapuram are years behind schedule, the last 46 km was approved only in 2025, and land is still being bought at the Chennai end. Here is the stretch-by-stretch record.
The numbers
The four-laning of NH-332A, the national highway that carries the East Coast Road from Mamallapuram to Puducherry, was split into four packages totalling about 108 km, the road transport ministry told the Lok Sabha on 8 August 2024. The first package, Mamallapuram to Mugaiyur, began on 12 May 2022 and was due to finish on 10 May 2024. By February 2025 it was 40.61 per cent complete, with completion expected by 31 March 2026, according to a starred answer of 6 February 2025.
North of Mamallapuram, the road into Chennai is a state highway, and the state is widening the Thiruvanmiyur to Akkarai section to six lanes. South of Puducherry, the coast road continues as NH-32 to Cuddalore and Nagapattinam. Each piece has its own agency, budget and timetable, which is why the drive changes character every few kilometres.
The four packages to Puducherry
| Package (NH-332A) | Length (km) | Cost, Aug 2024 (₹ cr) | Progress Aug 2024 | Progress Feb 2025 | Likely completion (Feb 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mamallapuram-Mugaiyur | 31.00 | 1,360.53 | 33.01% | 40.61% | 31 Mar 2026 |
| Mugaiyur-Marakkanam | 31.00 | 1,116.13 | 17.32% | 28.41% | 5 Dec 2025 |
| Marakkanam-Koonimedu | 14.50 | 311.91 | not started | not listed | not listed |
| Koonimedu-Puducherry | 31.55 | 951.98 | not started | not listed | not listed |
Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 2936 (8 August 2024) and Starred Question 51 (6 February 2025)
The four lengths add up to 108.05 km and the August 2024 costs to ₹3,740.55 crore. The February 2025 answer gives smaller sanctioned amounts for the first two packages, ₹1,008.99 crore and ₹825.94 crore, both dated 5 February 2019. The difference is between the original sanction and the total project cost later reported; the 2024 answer adds that price escalation is payable under the contracts and the final amount will be settled on completion.
Minimum slip on the Mamallapuram-Mugaiyur package: due on 10 May 2024, it was expected by 31 March 2026 at 40.61 per cent progress, per the February 2025 answer.
Why the work is late
The ministry’s reasons are specific. For Mamallapuram to Mugaiyur, the 2024 answer lists late handover of land, the need for no-objection certificates from the Water Resources Department for major bridges, permission for borrow earth, and slow mobilisation by the concessionaire. The 2025 answer adds poor progress, a missed second milestone and insufficient resources. For Mugaiyur to Marakkanam, the reason given is land acquisition.
The last 46 km
The first two packages also took a long time to start. Both were sanctioned on 5 February 2019; work began on 12 May 2022 for Mamallapuram to Mugaiyur and on 7 December 2023 for Mugaiyur to Marakkanam, more than three and nearly five years later. The answers do not explain the gap between sanction and start.
The last two packages took a different route. In 2024 they were listed as awarded but with no appointed date, meaning work had not formally begun. In August 2025 the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a 46 km four-lane Marakkanam to Puducherry project at ₹2,157 crore under the hybrid annuity model, the {a(U_NM, “Prime Minister’s website”)} recorded, describing the existing road as a congested two-lane route. The 46 km matches the two packages’ combined 46.05 km, while the approved cost is about ₹893 crore above their 2024 figure of ₹1,263.89 crore.
Under the hybrid annuity model, the government pays part of the cost while the road is built and the rest to the developer in instalments over the following years, so the concessionaire carries some of the financing.
South of Puducherry
The coast road’s continuation, NH-32, has moved faster. The Puducherry to Poondiyankuppam section, 38 km at ₹1,588.40 crore, was 91.86 per cent complete in August 2024 and 98.50 per cent in February 2025, with completion expected by 15 February 2025. Poondiyankuppam to Sattanathapuram, 56.80 km at ₹2,565.63 crore, was 98.79 per cent complete in August 2024. Sattanathapuram to Nagapattinam lagged, at 57.96 per cent in February 2025, held up partly by the non-supply of fly ash from NLC.
The Chennai end
Inside the city, widening is a state job under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001. A Gazette Extraordinary notice of 8 June 2026 from the Commissioner of Land Administration shows the process still going: it notifies the acquisition of 40 square metres of a plot in Enjambakkam, Sholinganallur taluk, for widening the Thiruvanmiyur to Akkarai road to six lanes between Km 11/8 and Km 22/3, a stretch of about 10.5 km.
A notice for a sliver of land with a staircase and paving on it is a reminder of why urban widening takes years. Each plot along the road needs its own notice, valuation and compensation under the Act before work can reach it.
The stretch also matters for tourism traffic. Chengalpattu district, which covers Mamallapuram and much of the coast road, recorded 73,76,285 domestic tourist visits in 2022, according to the Statistical Handbook of Tamil Nadu 2022-23.
It’s often said the East Coast Road is one highway run by one agency.
The record shows The Chennai end is a state road being widened by the state under the Highways Act; Mamallapuram to Puducherry is NH-332A under NHAI in four packages; and south of Puducherry the coast road is NH-32, built in separate packages again.
What this means for you
- Expect diversions and single-lane sections between Mamallapuram and Marakkanam while the first two packages remain incomplete.
- Between Marakkanam and Puducherry, the approved four-lane project was still at an early stage in the latest official record, so the old two-lane road remains the route.
- Owners along Thiruvanmiyur to Akkarai should watch the Gazette for acquisition notices under the Highways Act, which set out the survey numbers and areas to be taken.
- For the Puducherry to Cuddalore leg, the NH-32 four-lane was close to complete in early 2025.
What to watch
Pending
Completion of Mamallapuram-Mugaiyur; the last official likely date, 31 March 2026, has passed without a published update.
Pending
Appointed date and start of work on the ₹2,157 crore Marakkanam-Puducherry project.
Pending
Further acquisition notices for the Thiruvanmiyur-Akkarai six-lane widening.
Checked against official sources on 23 October 2026. Figures and rules change; confirm on the linked official pages before relying on them.
Sources
- Lok Sabha Starred Question 51, 6 February 2025, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (NH projects in Tamil Nadu)
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 2936, 8 August 2024, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (coastal highways in Tamil Nadu)
- Cabinet approves 4-lane Marakkanam-Puducherry NH-332A, narendramodi.in, August 2025
- Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary No. 276, Part VI Section 1, 8 June 2026
- Statistical Handbook of Tamil Nadu 2022-23, Chapter 40 Tourism, Department of Economics and Statistics
