Ahmedabad, Sep 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the 20.8 km long Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project Phase II corridor. He also travelled by the metro and interacted with youngsters. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and shared pictures of the metro travel on his X handle.
“Inaugurated Phase-II of the Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project and on the way to today’s programme with energetic youngsters,” the PM wrote in his post. The metro, marking the extension of the North-South Metro Corridor, which now stretches from APMC to Mahatma Mandir and includes a branch line from GNLU to GIFT City.
The phase-II project will connect 21 km between the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Motera and Gandhinagar Sector 1. Phase II introduces an 8 km corridor with eight stations and the opening of a 15.4 km viaduct between Motera and Sector 1. This section includes six new stations: GNLU, Raysan, Randesan, Dholakuva Circle, Infocity, and Sector 1. Additionally, a 5.4 km link line to GIFT City has two stations: PDEU and GIFT City. The total cost of the metro expansion is Rs 3,284 crore.
The project is expected to benefit daily commuters travelling between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, providing a faster, safer, and environmentally sustainable transportation option. Earlier in the day, PM Modi interacted with the ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’ beneficiaries in Vavol, Gandhinagar.
He visited Shalin-2 Society, meeting residents who installed rooftop solar panels as part of a Rs 75,021 crore government initiative launched earlier this year. During his visit to bungalow 53 in Shalin-2, he spent around 18 minutes observing the solar panel installation and spoke with the homeowner, Jagshibhai Suthar, and his family.
Enthusiastic residents gathered to greet the Prime Minister, chanting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. Vavol, with 100 apartments and 25 bungalow schemes, has seen 89 families benefit from the solar programme.
Further, the Prime Minister is set to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for several major development projects worth over Rs 8,000 crore in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Among the key initiatives are the quadrupling of the Samakhiali-Gandhidham and Gandhidham-Adipur railway lines, the development of iconic roads in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) area, and the construction of flyover bridges at key junctions, including Bakrol, Hathijan, Ramol, and Panjarpol.
In the energy sector, the Prime Minister will inaugurate a 30 MW solar power system and a 35 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at the Kutch Lignite Thermal Power Station.
Additionally, 220-kilovolt substations in Morbi and Rajkot will also be unveiled. The Prime Minister will launch the Single Window IT System (SWITS) for the International Financial Services Centres Authority, designed to simplify and streamline financial services.
Moreover, more than 30,000 homes under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana will receive approval with the Prime Minister releasing the first instalment of funds to kickstart construction. He will also hand over completed homes to beneficiaries across urban and rural areas under the PMAY scheme.
IANS