Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting poll-bound Tamilnadu and Puducherry today to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development initiatives.
On Wednesday, he tweeted, “India is proud of Tamil Nadu’s contribution to national progress. The vibrant Tamil culture is popular globally. Central Government is honoured to be working for TN’s growth. Will be in Coimbatore tomorrow to inaugurate various projects”.
While at around 11:30 am on Thursday, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development initiatives in Puducherry, at around 4 pm, he will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple infrastructure projects worth over Rs 12,400 crore in Coimbatore, a Prime Minister’s Office statement said.
In Tamilnadu, he will dedicate to the nation the Neyveli New Thermal Power Project — a lignite based power plant designed for power generation capacity of 1000 MW with two units of 500 MW capacity each.
Built at a cost of about Rs 8,000 crore, the pit head power plant will utilise lignite as fuel from the existing mines of Neyveli, which have sufficient lignite reserves for meeting the lifetime requirement of the project, the statement said.
The plant has been designed for 100 per cent ash utilisation and the power generated would benefit Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry, with Tamilnadu having the major share of about 65 per cent, it said.
The PM will also dedicate to the nation the 709 MW solar power project of NLCIL, established over an area of about 2,670 acres of land across the districts of Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar. The project has been set up at a cost of over Rs 3,000 crore.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the extension, renovation and modernisation of Lower Bhavani Project System.
In Puducherry, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for 4-laning of NH 45-A 56 km Sattanathapuram-Nagapattinam package of Villupuram to Nagapattinam project covering Karaikal district.
The capital cost to be incurred in this project is about Rs 2,426 crore.
He will also lay the foundation stone of the Medical College Building at Karaikal New Campus — Phase I, Karaikal District (JIPMER). The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 491 crore.