During his visit to Maharashtra to inaugurate the country’s longest bridge and sea-bridge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated projects worth Rs 30,500 crore on Friday.
The prime minister also inaugurated the extension of a suburban rail corridor and a mega facilitation centre for gems and jewellery and laid the foundation stone of a tunnel road in south Mumbai.
He started off by inaugurating the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, also called the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, which was worth Rs 17,840 crore. The bridge will cut the distance between Mumbai and the satellite city of Navi Mumbai from some hours to 15-20 minutes. This will help boost the development in the region that houses a mega port and also an upcoming international airport.
The Atal Setu, which is the longest bridge and seabridge in the country, is 21.8 kilometre long, including a 16.5 portion over sea, and will reduce the distance from the metropolis to the Navi Mumbai International Airport and also cut travel time to major areas like Pune, the state’s second largest city, and further to Goa and the rest of south India. It will also improve connectivity between Mumbai Port, in the southern part of the metropolis, and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, one of the country’s most important trade facilities, located in Nhava Sheva in neighbouring Raigad district, officials said.
The foundation stone of the Atal Setu was laid by PM Modi in December 2016, and it has been constructed at rapid pace despite the COVID-19 slowdown in the interim, officials added.
At a well attended function in Ulwe in Navi Mumbai, Modi also inaugurated the 14.60 kilometre Kharkopar-Uran stretch of the 27 kilometre Belapur-Seawoods-Uran suburban corridor. It has been built at a cost of Rs 2973.35 crore, which was shared in the 67-33 ratio between the Maharashtra government’s planning authority CIDCO and the Railways, respectively.
Since the 1990s, the line has been in the works since and has also faced numerous delays. The second phase inaugurated by PM Modi has five stations and several bridges. Presently 40 suburban services are operated on this route, and the extension till Uran will boost connectivity to the region, including its SEZ.
The PM also commissioned the Digha Gaon railway line on the Thane-Vashi trans-harbour line of Central Railway, which will decongest Thane and Airoli stations on the route. He also dedicated to the nation the 6th line between Khar and Goregaon, which will allow segregation of long distance and suburban trains on Western Railway’s Mumbai division. The 8.8 kilometre stretch, built at a cost of Rs 425 crore, was completed in November 2023.
He laid the foundation stone of the ambitious 9.2 kilometre tunnel connecting Orange Gate on Eastern Freeway and Marine Drive. It will greatly speed up traffic movement in the areas close to Mumbai Port, CSMT and GPO as well as the iconic Nariman Point tip of the metropolis and will be built at a cost of Rs 8,700 crore.
The PM dedicated the first phase of the Surya regional bulk drinking water project, which has been built at a cost of Rs 1,975 crore. It will greatly augment supply in Thane and Palghar districts. The population in the region is 14 lakh. Modi also inaugurated ‘Bharat Ratnam’ (Mega Common Facilitation Centre) for the gems and jewellery sector at Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone- Special Economic Zone (SEEPZ SEZ) in Mumbai, which is first of its kind in India with best available machines in the world, including 3D Metal printing.
The newly-inaugurated mega facilitation centre for gems and jewellery will have a training school for skilling of the workforce of this sector, including specially-abled students, said officials.
The PM inaugurated the New Enterprises and Services Tower (NEST)-01 at SEEPZ- SEZ. NEST-01 is primarily for gem and jewellery units, which will be relocated from the existing Standard Design Factory-I, said the officials, adding the new tower is designed for large scale production and as per the demand of the industry.
(with PTI inputs)
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