Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated Atal Setu, the longest sea bridge in the country connecting Mumbai and its satellite township Navi Mumbai, and sounded the bugle for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, saying the fulfilment of this project was his guarantee.
The PM, who was on a day-long visit to Maharashtra, inaugurated the Rs 17,840 crore Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, the longest bridge as well as the longest sea bridge in the country connecting south Mumbai with Nhava-Sheva in Navi Mumbai. The six-lane trans-harbour bridge is 21.8 km long with a 16.5 km long sea-link.
The foundation stone of the bridge had been laid by prime minister Modi in December 2016.
"When I came here on December 24, 2016 to lay the foundation stone of this sea bridge, which faced a lot of roadblocks, I had resolved that the country would undergo a change. Completion of the sea bridge despite the COVID-19 pandemic is very crucial and important," Modi said at a public meeting at Panvel in neighbouring Raigad district.
"People were fed up with how mega projects were stalled and they had given up hope wondering if big projects will ever be completed. But it was Modi's guarantee that the country will change," he said.
Before 2014, mega scams used to be the topic of discussion. But 10 years down the line, mega projects getting completed is the talk, he said.
"Dreams are coming true 10 years later. The sea bridge is a reflection of Viksit Bharat...It shows India's infrastructural prowess and march towards being a developed nation," he said.
The upcoming projects Navi Mumbai international airport, the Coastal Road in Mumbai, AURIC (Aurangabad Industrial City), the Mumbai-Delhi Industrial Corridor, and the bullet train will boost Maharashtra's economy in the years to come, he added.
"I thank the government of Japan and remember late Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. Both of us had vowed to complete the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project," the PM said.
From the venue, Modi also inaugurated new suburban railway station Digha Gaon on Thane-Vashi/Panvel trans-harbour line and 6th line between Khar Road and Goregaon railway stations in Mumbai.
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