Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep on January 2 and 3 during which he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office, on January 2, Modi will reach Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu and will be the chief guest at the 38th Convocation Ceremony of Bharathidasan University. At a public programme in Tiruchirappalli, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 19,850 crore related to aviation, rail, road, oil and gas, shipping and higher education sectors. Modi will then reach Agatti in Lakshadweep where he will address a public function.
On January 3, the prime minister will reach Kavaratti in Lakshadweep, where he will lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects in Lakshadweep related to sectors such as telecommunications, drinking water, solar power and health. At the programme in Tiruchirappalli, he will inaugurate the New Terminal Building at Tiruchirappalli International Airport.
Developed at a cost of more than Rs 1,100 crore, the two-level new international terminal building has the capacity to serve more than 44 lakh passengers annually and about 3,500 passengers during peak hours, the statement said.
Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation multiple railway projects worth. These include the project for doubling of 41.4 Km Salem–Magnesite Junction–Omalur–Mettur Dam section; project for doubling of rail line section of 160 Km from Madurai - Tuticorin; and three projects for rail line electrification viz Tiruchchirappalli- Manamadurai- Virudhunagar; Virudhunagar – Tenkasi Junction; Sengottai – Tenkasi Junction - Tirunelveli- Tiruchendur. The rail projects will help in improving the rail capacity to carry freight and passengers and contribute to economic development and employment generation in Tamil Nadu.
Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation five road sector projects. The projects include 39 km four lane road for Trichy – Kallagam section of NH-81; 60 km long 4/2-laning of Kallagam – Meensurutti section of NH-81; 29 km four-lane road of Chettikulam - Natham section of NH-785; 80 km long two lane with paved shoulder of Karaikudi – Ramanathapuram section of NH-536; and 44 km long four laning of section of NH-179A Salem – Tirupathur - Vaniyambadi Road. The road projects will facilitate safe and faster travel of people of the region and improve connectivity of industrial and commercial centres like Trichy, Srirangam, Chidambaram, Rameshwaram, Dhanushkodi, Uthirakosamangai, Devipattinam, Erwadi, Madurai, among others.
During the programme, Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of important road development projects. These include construction of 31 km long stretch four lane road from Mugaiyur to Marakkanam of NH 332A. The road will connect ports at the East Coast of Tamil Nadu, enhance road connectivity to the world heritage site – Mamallapuram and provide better connectivity to Kalpakkam Atomic Power Plant.
Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation the General Cargo Berth-II (Automobile Export/Import Terminal-II & Capital Dredging Phase-V) of Kamarajar Port. The inauguration of General Cargo Berth-II will be a step towards strengthening the country’s trade which will help boost economic growth and employment generation.
During the programme, Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of important Petroleum and Natural Gas projects worth more than Rs 9000 crore. The two projects dedicated to the Nation include Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL)’s 488 km long natural gas pipeline from IP101 (Chengalpet) to IP 105 (Sayalkudi) section of Ennore - Thiruvallur - Bengaluru - Puducherry - Nagapattinam - Madurai - Tuticorin Pipeline; and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)’s 697 km long Vijayawada-Dharmapuri Multiproduct (POL) Petroleum Pipeline (VDPL).
Further, the projects whose foundation stone will be laid include development of 323 Km of natural gas pipeline from Krishnagiri to Coimbatore section of Kochi-Koottanad-Bangalore-Mangalore Gas pipeline II (KKBMPL II) by Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL); and laying of POL pipelines in Common Corridor for proposed grass root terminal at Vallur, Chennai. These projects of the petroleum and natural gas sector will be a step towards fulfilling the industrial, domestic and commercial requirements of the energy in the region. These will also lead to employment generation in the region and contribute to employment generation.
Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (DFRP) at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam. The DFRP, developed at a cost of Rs. 400 crore, is equipped with a unique design, which is the only of its kind in the world and is capable of reprocessing both carbide and oxide fuels discharged from the fast reactors. It is entirely designed by Indian scientists and signifies a crucial step towards building large commercial-scale fast reactor fuel reprocessing plants.
Among other projects, Prime Minister will inaugurate the 500 bedded Boys’ Hostel ‘AMETHYST’ of National Institute of Technology (NIT) – Tiruchirappalli.
During his visit to Lakshadweep, Modi will lay the foundation stone of development projects worth more than Rs 1,150 crore. In a transformative move, the prime minister had resolved to overcome the challenge of slow internet speed in Lakshadweep island by initiating the Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fiber Connection (KLI-SOFC) project and made an announcement on it in the Independence Day speech in August 2020 at the Red Fort.
The project has now been completed and will be inaugurated by Modi. This will lead to an increase of internet speed for more than 100 times (from 1.7 Gbps to 200 Gbps), the statement said. For the first time since Independence, Lakshadweep will be connected through Submarine Optic Fibre Cable.
The dedicated submarine OFC will ensure a paradigm shift in communication infrastructure in Lakshadweep islands, enabling faster and more reliable internet services, telemedicine, e-governance, educational initiatives, digital banking, digital currency usage, digital literacy etc..
Modi will also dedicate to the nation the Low Temperature Thermal Desalination plant at Kadmat, which will produce 1.5 lakh litres of clean drinking water every day.
He will also dedicate to the nation the Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) in all households of Agatti and Minicoy islands. Other projects which will be dedicated to the nation include the solar power plant at Kavaratti, which is the first ever battery backed solar power project of Lakshadweep.
It will help to reduce dependency on Diesel based Power Generation plant; and the new administrative block and 80 Men barrack in India Reserve Battalion Complex at Kavaratti.
