Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday performed the bhoomi poojan of Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II and Surat Metro Rail Project via video conferencing.
After performing the groundbreaking ceremony, PM Modi said that the work is in progress on over 1,000 km long metro rail network in 27 cities in India.
"Work is underway on over 1000 kms of metro network in 27 cities across the nation, as of now. There was a time when there was no modern thinking in nation, regarding metro network. There was no metro policy. As a result, there were different kinds of metro in different cities," he said.
Stating that the metro network in Ahmedabad and Surat will further strengthen the connectivity in the two major business centres of the country, PM Modi said the government is developing an integrated urban transport system.
PM Modi said that the difference between the approach of his government and the previous governments is the pace of expansion of the metro rail network across the country.
"Best example to see difference between approach of previous governments and work of current govt is the expansion of metro rail network across country. Before 2014, only 225 kms of metro line became operational in 10-12 yrs. In last 6 years, over 450 kms of metro network became operational," PM Modi said.
The Ahmedabad and Surat metro projects are expected to provide an environment friendly Mass Rapid Transit System to these cities.
The Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase-II is 28.25 km long with two corridors. While corridor-1 is 22.8 km long and is from Motera Stadium to Mahatma Mandir, corridor-2 is 5.4 km long and is from GNLU to GIFT-City. The total completion cost of the Phase-II project is Rs 5,384 crore, an official said.
The Surat Metro Rail Project is 40.35 km long and comprises two corridors. While corridor-1 is 21.61 km long and is from Sarthana to Dream City. Corridor-2 is 18.74 km long and is from Bhesan to Saroli. The completion cost of the project Rs 12,020 crore.
(Inputs from ANI and PTI)
