Modi to launch mega-infra projects in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Rs.6,000 crore port-based multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) here Saturday, officials said Friday.

The Port Connectivity Highway Project, a part of the SEZ, is expected to cost around Rs.1,926 crore. It will be completed by Dec 2017 and executed under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode at the Jawaharal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Nava Sheva.

To be implemented by the Ministry of Shipping through a special purpose vehicle, the project has been undertaken as part of the National Highway Development & Port Connectivity Programme.

With the ongoing rapid development in the region on account of the JNPT, the country's largest container port, the upcoming new international airport and other projects, the need was felt to augment the carrying capacity of the existing road network to six-eight lane along with related infrastructure.

This would include a network of flyovers, rail overbridges, interchanges, service roads etc to ensure uninterrupted flow of traffic on the roads connecting the ports with national highways.

Prior to this, the national highway 4B, state highway 54 and Amra Marg were converted to four-lanes by the National Highways Authority of India in partnership with JNPT & CIDCO.

Spread over 227 hectares, the SEZ is being planned as a self-sustainable integrated development project with a potential to generate 150,000 jobs.

Modi will also allot land to people affected by JNPT project. The Ministry of Shipping approved transfer of 12.5 percent of the 1172 hectares land for the project-affected people of JNPT, which was commissioned in 1989.

On his daylong visit to Mumbai Saturday, Modi will dedicate the the four-lane section of the Pune-Solapur highway (National Highway-9).

He will also lay the foundation stone for four-laning of the Solapur-Maharashtra-Karnataka border section of NH-9.

The NH-9, linking Pune-Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Machilipatnam, is a major East-West corridor connecting the four states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

During his Solapur visit, Modi will take the opportunity to dedicate the Raichur-Solapur 765 KV transmission line of the Power Grid, which will enable synchronous operation of the South Region with the rest of India.

This will be Modi's second visit to Maharashtra after becoming the prime minister. Last month, he had visited the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.