As a strong proponent of ‘Aatmanirbharta’, especially in strategic sectors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Karnataka and Kerala on September 1-2, said officials on Thursday.

The visit will include PM Modi marking his presence at Sri Adi Shankara Janma Bhoomi Kshetram, the holy birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya, at Kalady village near Cochin Airport at around 5. 15 PM today.

After that, at around 6 PM, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation various projects of Kochi Metro and Indian Railways worth over Rs 4,500 crore.

At 9:30 AM on September 2, the Prime Minister will commission India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi.
In what will mark a significant step towards self-reliance in the defence sector, Modi will commission the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier as INS Vikrant.

Designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Vikrant has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India.

The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is named after her illustrious predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier which had played a vital role in the 1971 war. It has a large amount of indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country as well as over 100 MSMEs. With the commissioning of Vikrant, India will have two operational aircraft carriers, which will bolster the maritime security of the nation.

Thereafter at 1:30 PM tomorrow, the Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 3,800 crore in Mangaluru.
During the event, he will also unveil the new Naval Ensign (Nishaan), doing away with the colonial past and befitting the rich Indian maritime heritage.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate the Phase I extension of the Kochi Metro Rail Project from Petta to SN junction. The total cost of the project is over Rs 700 crore. Kochi Metro Rail project will be one of the most sustainable metro projects in the country with nearly 55 per cent of its energy needs being met by solar power.

“The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the Phase -II stretch of the Kochi Metro rail project from JLN stadium to Infopark, having a length of 11.2 kilometres and covering 11 stations. The total estimated cost of this project is around Rs. 1,950 crore. The proposed Phase II corridor of the Kochi Metro Rail Project is aimed at catering to the growing transportation needs of Kochi City and is planned in such a way that it connects the District Headquarters, Special Economic Zone and IT Hub of the city with the existing metro rail network,” read a statement by Prime Minister’s office.

On completion, the combined Phase I and Phase II metro network will link the major residential and commercial hubs in the city with major transit hubs such as railway stations and bus stands, thus reinforcing the concept of multi-modal integration and last-mile connectivity.

PM Modi will dedicate to the nation the doubling of the Kuruppanthara-Kottayam-Chingavanam rail section, completed at a cost of nearly Rs.750 Crore. With this, the entire stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangaluru is fully doubled now, promising faster and seamless connectivity.

Significantly, lakhs of devotees bound for Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Shrine can conveniently alight at Kottayam or Chengannur railway station in the doubled section and proceed by road to Pamba. Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the newly electrified rail section between Kollam – Punalur.

The laying of the foundation stone for the redevelopment of three Railway stations in Kerala – Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town and Kollam will be done by PM Modi.

The total estimated cost of these station redevelopment projects is around Rs 1,050 crore. These railway stations will be equipped with state-of-the-art amenities and world-class facilities such as dedicated arrival/departure corridors, skywalks, solar panels, sewage treatment plants, energy-efficient lighting, rain-water harvesting and intermodal transport facilities.

Modi will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 3,800 crore in Mangaluru.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate the project worth over Rs 280 crore for mechanisation of Berth No. 14 for handling containers and other cargo, undertaken by the New Mangalore Port Authority.

The mechanized terminal will increase efficiency and reduce the turnaround time, pre-berthing delay and dwell time in the Port by around 35 per cent, thus giving a boost to the business environment. Phase I of the project has been successfully completed, thereby adding over 4.2 MTPA to the handling capacity, which would further increase to over 6 MTPA by 2025.

He will lay the foundation stone of five projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore, undertaken by the Port. The integrated LPG and Bulk Liquid POL Facility, equipped with state of an art cryogenic LPG storage tank terminal, will be capable of unloading full load VLGC (very large gas carriers) of 45,000 tonnes in a highly efficient manner.

The facility will bolster Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in the region while reinforcing the port’s status as one of the top LPG importing ports in the country. Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of projects for the construction of storage tanks and edible oil refinery, construction of bitumen storage and allied facilities and construction of bitumen and edible oil storage and allied facilities.

These projects will improve the turnaround time of bitumen and edible oil vessels and reduce the overall freight cost for trade. Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for the development of the Fishing Harbour at Kulai, which will facilitate safe handling of fish catch and enable better prices in the global market.

This work will be undertaken under the umbrella of the Sagarmala programme and will result in significant socio-economic benefits for the fishermen community.

Prime Minister will also inaugurate two projects undertaken by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited viz BS VI Upgradation Project and Sea Water Desalination Plant.

The BS VI Upgradation Project, worth around Rs 1830 crores, will facilitate the production of ultra-pure environment-friendly BS-VI grade fuel (with sulphur content less than 10 PPM).

The Sea Water Desalination Plant, set up at a cost of around Rs 680 crore, will help reduce dependency on fresh water and ensure regular supply of hydrocarbons and petrochemicals throughout the year.

Having a capacity of 30 Million Litres per Day (MLD), the Plant converts seawater into water required for the refinery processes.