PM Lays Foundation Stones For Multiple Projects In Vizag

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stones and dedicated to the nation multiple projects worth over Rs 10,500 crore in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, today.

The PM laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of the Visakhapatnam railway station at a cost of Rs 450 crore; for the modernisation and upgradation of the Visakhapatnam fishing harbour; and of the Andhra Pradesh section of the six-lane greenfield Raipur-Visakhapatnam economic corridor to be built at a cost of Rs 3,750 crore to provide faster connectivity between the industrial nodes of Chhattisgarh & Odisha to the Visakhapatnam port and the Chennai-Kolkata national highway, and to improve connectivity to the tribal and backward areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for a dedicated port road from Convent Junction to Sheela Nagar Junction in Visakhapatnam. The road is expected to ease the traffic congestion in Visakhapatnam city by segregating local and port-bound goods' traffic.

He also dedicated to the nation the Narasannapeta to Pathapatnam section of the NH-326A built at a cost of more than Rs 200 crore as a part of the Srikakulam-Gajapati corridor. The project will provide better connectivity in the region.

The U-field onshore deepwater block project of the ONGC in Andhra Pradesh, developed at a cost of more than Rs 2,900 crores, was also dedicated by the PM to the nation. It is the deepest gas discovery of the project, with a gas production potential of about 3 million metric standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD).

The PM also laid the foundation stone of the Srikakulam Angul natural gas pipeline project of the GAIL with a capacity of around 6.65 MMSCMD. This 745 km long pipeline will be built at a total cost of more than Rs 2,650 crore. Being a part of the Natural Gas Grid (NGG), the pipeline will create the vital infrastructure to supply natural gas to domestic households, industries, commercial units and the automobile sector in various districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The pipeline will supply natural gas to the city gas distribution network in the Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister recalled his previous visit to Andhra Pradesh on the 125th birth anniversary of Alluri Sitaramaraju.

He said that Visakhapatnam was a very special city with an extremely rich tradition of trade and business. He also said that be it education or entrepreneurship, technology or medicine, the people of Andhra Pradesh had made a prominent name for themselves in every field, and expressed delight at the projects that were being dedicated and those whose foundation stones were being laid today, saying that they would further the pace of development in the State.

The Prime Minister lamented the "isolated approach" to infrastructure development by the previous governments which he said had resulted in higher logistics expenses and created a dent in the supply chain, and highlighted his government's vision of inclusive growth.

Today's projects were an example of the integrated view of development of his government, the Prime Minister said, and listed out the six-lane roads in the proposed economic corridor project, a separate road for port connectivity, the beautification of the Visakhapatnam railway station and the construction of the state-of-the-art fishing harbour as examples.

He credited this integrated view of development to the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, and said that it had not only accelerated the pace of infrastructure construction but also reduced the cost of projects.

"Multi-modal transport system is the future of every city, and Visakhapatnam has taken a step in this direction," he added.

He said that Andhra Pradesh, especially its coastal regions, would move ahead in this race of development with new momentum and energy, and that the State would continue to play a pivotal role in this development drive of the country.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan, Union Minister Ashvini Vaishnaw, MPs and MLCs were present.