New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of two metro rail projects in Gujarat through video conferencing and said this project will strengthen the connectivity in two major business centers of the country.
The two metro rail projects include Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II and Surat Metro Rail Project.
Speaking at the virtual Bhoomi Pujan ceremony, PM Modi said, “Today is a very important day for Ahmedabad and Surat as the metro network will work to further strengthen connectivity in the two cities, which are major business centres of the country.”
“Work on projects worth Rs 17,000 crore have been initiated. This showcases the country’s commitment for the development of the nation even during these testing times of pandemic,” he added.
The Prime Minister also said that during the previous government there was less significant work on the expansion of metro railways in the country.
He highlighted the work of his government and said at present, the metro work is underway in 27 cities across the country on more than 1,000 km long metro network.
“Before 2014, only 225 km of the metro line became operational in 10-12 years. In the last 6 years, over 450 km of the metro network became operational,” the Prime Minister said.
In addition, he said, “There was no modern approach for the metro, and there was no metro policy. As a result, there are different metro in different cities based on different techniques and facility.”
PM Modi further asserted that, “We are developing cities’ transport system like integrated system, which means that bus, metro, rail will not ply as per their own design but work as a collective system, complementary to each other,” he added.
According to an official statement, the metro projects will provide an environment friendly ‘Mass Rapid Transit System’ to these cities. Ahmedabad’s Metro Rail Project Phase-II is 28.25 Kilometres (km) long with two corridors. The total cost of the Phase-II project is Rs 5,384 crores.
Meanwhile, Surat Metro Rail Project is 40.35 km long and comprises two corridors and the total cost of the project Rs 12,020 crores, the statement added.
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri were also present on the occasion.
-RJV
