Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 27th National Youth Festival at Nashik in Maharashtra on Friday and also launch several development projects at Navi Mumbai.

In Mumbai, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate and travel on the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu. It is the longest bridge in India and also the longest sea bridge in India.

In line with the Prime Minister’s vision to improve ‘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.

The bridge will provide faster connectivity to the Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport and also reduce travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa and South India. It will improve connectivity between Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

The foundation stone of the bridge was laid by the Prime Minister in December, 2016. The Atal Setu has been constructed at a total cost of more than Rs 17,840 crore. It is about 21.8 km long 6-lane bridge having about 16.5 km length over sea and about 5.5 km on the land.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate, dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 12,700 crore at a public programme in Navi Mumbai.

Modi 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 which will reduce travel time between Orange Gate and Marine Drive.

He 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 1975 crore will provide drinking water supply to the Palghar and Thane district of Maharashtra, benefiting about 14 lakh population.

During the programme, Prime Minister will dedicate about Rs 2,000 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 6th Line between Khar Road and Goregaon railway station. The projects will benefit thousands of daily commuters in Mumbai.

Prime Minister will inaugurate ‘Bharat Ratnam’ (Mega Common Facilitation Centre) for Gems and Jewellery sector at Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone- Special Economic Zone (SEEPZ SEZ), which is first of its kind in India with best available machines in world including 3D Metal printing.

The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the New Enterprises & Services Tower (NEST)- 01 at SEEPZ- SEZ. The NEST – 01 is primarily for Gem & 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.

During the programme, Prime Minister will 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 Prime Minister will inaugurate the 27th National Youth Festival (NYF) in Nashik. The National Youth Festival is organised every year from 12th to 16th January, with 12th January being the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The host state for the Festival this year is Maharashtra.