Alphonsus Chia, Chief Executive Officer of the SEC and K Phanindra Reddy, member-secretary, CRRT, signed the MoU in the presence of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Deputy CM M K Stalin and senior officials.

On a three-day visit to the city, a delegation of the SEC held discussions with various departments involved in the Cooum Restoration Project.

The members of the delegation will inspect stretches of the Cooum on March 19.

Asked about the total cost of the project, Phanindra Reddy said it could not be spelt out at this juncture, as the project involved the coordination of many departments. The project would be implemented in phases. The Metrowater, for its part, had already prepared a project report of Rs 468 crore, he said.

The project report on providing alternative accommodation for slum dwellers along the river will be ready in May and the report on shifting shops selling automobile spare parts in Pudupet will be ready in a month’s time, Reddy said.

Reddy observed that it took 10 years to clean the Kallang river, similar to the Cooum, in Singapore. The Cooum spans 65 km. Otterinulla, Virugambakkam canal and the Buckingham canal will also be cleaned as part of the Cooum Restoration Project.The State government is taking steps to clean all the waterways in Chennai within 12 years, he added.

Stalin had led a delegation of senior officials to Singapore in November last year, to study the measures taken to restore the Kallang river and had then submitted a report to the Chief Minister. Later, the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust was formed to restore the waterways in the city.