Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maharashtra on Thursday and lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation various projects worth over Rs 22,600 crore, including initiatives of the petroleum and natural gas sector worth Rs 10,400 crore.
During his visit, Mr Modi will inaugurate the Solapur Airport which will significantly improve connectivity, making Solapur more accessible to tourists, business travellers, and investors. The existing terminal building of the Solapur Airport has been revamped to serve around 4.1 lakh passengers annually.
The Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation the Bidkin Industrial Area, a transformative project covering an expansive 7,855 acres under the National Industrial Corridor Development Program of the Central government, situated 20 km south of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra.
The project developed under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor holds immense potential as a vibrant economic hub in the Marathwada region. The Central Government has approved this project with an overall project cost of over Rs 6,400 crore for development in three phases.
In Pune, earlier, the prime minister will flag off from the District Court Metro Station the Metro train scheduled to run from District Court to Swargate, Pune. The inauguration of the project will mark the completion of Phase 1 of the Pune Metro Rail Project. The cost of the underground section between the District Court to Swargate is around Rs 1,810 crore.
Mr Modi will then lay the foundation stone for the Swargate-Katraj Extension of Pune Metro Phase-1 to be developed at the cost of around Rs 2,950 crore. This southern extension of around 5.46 km is completely underground with three stations, Market Yard, Padmavati, and Katraj.
The prime minister will lay the foundation stone for the Memorial of Kranti Jyoti Savitribai Phule’s First Girls’ School at Bhidewada.
In line with his commitment to make India self-reliant in the field of Supercomputing technology, the prime minister will dedicate to the nation three PARAM Rudra Supercomputers worth around Rs 130 crore, developed indigenously under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
These supercomputers have been deployed in Pune, Delhi and Kolkata to facilitate pioneering scientific research. The Giant Metre Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune will leverage the supercomputer to explore Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) and other astronomical phenomena.
The Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) in Delhi will enhance research in fields like material science and atomic physics. S.N. Bose Centre in Kolkata will drive advanced research in areas such as physics, cosmology, and earth sciences.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate a High-Performance Computing (HPC) system tailored for weather and climate research. This project represents an investment of Rs 850 crore, marking a significant leap in India’s computational capabilities for meteorological applications.
Located at two key sites, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune and the National Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF) in Noida, this HPC system has extraordinary computing power.
The new HPC systems are named ‘Arka’ and ‘Arunika,’ reflecting their connection to the Sun. These high-resolution models will significantly enhance the accuracy and lead time of predictions related to tropical cyclones, heavy precipitation, thunderstorms, hailstorms, heat waves, droughts, and other critical weather phenomena.
The petroleum and natural gas sector initiatives worth Rs 10,400 crore focus on energy, infrastructure, safety and convenience of truck and cab drivers, cleaner mobility, and a sustainable future.
To enable ease of driving, the prime minister will launch the Way Side Amenities for truck drivers at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra; Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab; Songadh, Gujarat; Belagavi and Bangalore Rural, Karnataka.
To develop modern facilities for a comfortable journey break at one place designed to cater to the needs of truckers and cab drivers during their long journeys, wayside amenities such as affordable boarding and lodging facilities, clean toilets, safe parking space, cooking area, WiFi, Gym, etc. are being developed at a cost of around Rs 2,170 crore at 1,000 retail outlets.
The prime minister will dedicate to the nation 20 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) stations across the country including three in Maharashtra.