The National Highways for Electric Vehicles (NHEV) has acquired a 4.7-acre site in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, to set up its next-generation 3G EV charging station on the Kanyakumari–Madurai highway. This is the second planned charging station on this corridor and the first under the South Zone rollout of NHEV’s national infrastructure initiative. The site has been leased from a private landowner and will act as a model for the hybrid public-private partnership (PPP) deployment of charging infrastructure that the NHEV has been pushing in recent years.
The development follows a technical trial conducted by NHEV between Chennai and Trichy using electric and LNG commercial vehicles from Ashok Leyland and Blue Energy Motors. The Tirunelveli station is expected to support freight vehicle charging as well, particularly for trucks operating along Tamil Nadu’s port and logistics corridors. This will be NHEV’s fifth freight route in the country and is part of the larger 5,500-km 3G charging network that is now being expedited under the Union Budget 2025–26.
Abhijeet Sinha, Project Director, NHEV, noted that several land parcels were assessed from both private pledges and public sector bids through NHLML and PSUs. The Tirunelveli plot was selected after drone surveys, mapping, and preliminary examination for construction and electrification work. Site partner Maaya Autobahn confirmed that soil testing and project cost estimation have begun and a price tag for the station will be determined soon.
The 3G charging station is being built under the ‘AHEM’ (Annuity Hybrid E-Mobility) model which for the first time allows individuals and private companies to own and operate EV charging stations of this scale. This marks a significant departure from India’s traditional licensing regime, where petrol pumps have largely remained under strict regulatory ownership. With this approach, the NHEV aims to democratise EV infrastructure development by involving PSUs under the Power and Petroleum Ministries, private operators, and the general public.
NHEV’s construction partner Tata Steel Nest-In and charging solutions provider HYDRA Charging have already begun ground assessments. Over 36 additional stakeholders from the NHEV group are expected to visit the Tirunelveli site in the coming weeks to finalise the asset allocation and operational frameworks. This site is also likely to double up as a logistics charging hub due to its location near freight corridors and industrial clusters.
The broader rollout has been backed by directives from the Estimate Committee of the 17th Lok Sabha and is now being fast-tracked as part of the national infrastructure pipeline that includes the Bharatmala and Sagarmala projects. The timeline for the NHEV network has been advanced to 2027 from the original 2030 target following the Finance Minister’s commitment in the Union Budget. The first station on the Kanyakumari–Madurai corridor will also be announced later this month as part of the South Zone rollout covering Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Goa, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu.
