NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maharashtra tomorrow and unveil projects worth over Rs 30,500 crore in the state. He will inaugurate the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, built at a cost of about Rs 17,840 crore. Atal Setu is the longest bridge and also the longest sea bridge in the country. During the visit, the Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of underground road tunnel connecting Eastern Freeway’s Orange Gate and launch Namo Mahila Shashaktikaran Abhiyaan in the state. An official release said that the Prime Minister’s vision is to improve the ‘ease of mobility’ of citizens by strengthening urban transport infrastructure and connectivity. The Mumbai Transharbour link (MTHL), now named ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri – Nhava Sheva Atal Setu’ has been built in line with this vision, it said. The foundation stone of the bridge was laid by PM Modi in December 2016. Atal Setu has been constructed at a total cost of more than Rs 17,840 crore. It is about 21.8 km-long six-lane bridge having about 16.5 km length over sea and about 5.5 km on land. It will provide faster connectivity to Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport and will also reduce travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa and South India. It will also improve connectivity between Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the release said. At Navi Mumbai, the Prime Minister will unveil development projects worth more than Rs 12,700 crore in the public programme. The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the underground road tunnel connecting Eastern Freeway’s Orange Gate to Marine Drive. The 9.2 km tunnel will be built at a cost of more than Rs 8700 crore and will be a significant infrastructure development in Mumbai that will reduce travel time between Orange Gate and Marine Drive. The Prime Minister will dedicate phase 1 of the Surya regional bulk drinking water project to the nation. The project, developed at a cost of more than Rs 1,975 crore will provide drinking water supply to the Palghar and Thane district of Maharashtra, benefiting about 14 lakh people. During the programme, Prime Minister will dedicate about Rs 2000-crore railway projects to the nation. These include the dedication of ‘Phase 2 of Uran-Kharkopar railway line’ which will enhance connectivity to Navi Mumbai as suburban services running between Nerul/Belapur to Kharkopar will now be extended to Uran. Prime Minister will also flag off the inaugural run of the EMU train from Uran railway station to Kharkopar. Other rail projects that will be dedicated to the nation include a new suburban station ‘Digha Gaon’ on the Thane-Vashi/Panvel Trans-Harbour line and the new sixth line between Khar Road & Goregaon railway station. The projects will benefit the thousands of daily commuters in Mumbai. Prime Minister will inaugurate ‘Bharat Ratnam’ (Mega Common Facilitation Centre) for the gems and jewellery sector at Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone-Special Economic Zone (SEEPZ SEZ), which is the first of its kind in India with “best available machines in the world, including 3D metal printing”. This will house a training school for the skilling of the workforce for this sector, including specially abled students. The Mega CFC will transform the export sector in the gems and jewellery trade and will help domestic manufacturing. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the New Enterprises & Services Tower (NEST)- 01 at SEEPZ-SEZ. The NEST-01 is primarily for gem and jewellery sector units which will be relocated from existing Standard Design Factory – I. The new tower has been designed for large scale production and as per the demand of the industry. The Prime Minister will also launch Namo Mahila Shashaktikaran Abhiyaan. The Abhiyaan aims to empower women in the state of Maharashtra by providing skill development training and exposure to entrepreneurship development. The Abhiyaan will also undertake the effort towards the convergence and saturation of women development programmes of the state and central governments. The release said that it has been the constant endeavour of the Prime Minister to make youth a key part of the development journey of the country. “In another effort in this endeavour, Prime Minister will inaugurate the 27th National Youth Festival (NYF) in Nashik,” it said. The National Youth Festival is organised every year from January 12 to 16 with January 12 being the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The host state for the Festival this year is Maharashtra. The theme of this year’s Festival is ‘Viksit Bharat@ 2047: For the youth, by the youth’ NYF seeks to create a forum where youth from different regions of India can share their experiences and strengthen foundations for a united nation, in the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. About 7500 youth delegates from across the country will take part in the Festival at Nasik. Various events including cultural performances, indigenous sports, declamation and thematic based presentation, young artist camp, poster making, story writing, youth convention, food festival will be organised.
