‘Atal Setu a glimpse of developed India’: PM Modi on opening India's longest sea bridge
PM Modi on Friday inaugurated India's longest sea bridge, known as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Trans Harbour Link, or Atal Setu, in Navi Mumbai.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Atal Setu, India's longest sea bridge, is a “glimpse of what a developed India is going to look like”. The PM's comments come shortly after he inaugurated the bridge in Navi Mumbai.
“In a developed India, there will be facilities for all, there will be prosperity for all, there will be speed and there will be progress. In developed India, distances will be reduced and every corner of the country will be connected. Be it life or livelihood, everything will go on continuously, without interruption. This is the message of Atal Setu,” PM Modi said while addressing a public event.
PM Modi also thanked Japan for its help and support towards the construction of the bridge. Notably, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has provided an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for the ambitious infrastructure project.
“On this occasion, I would like to remember Shinzo Abe (former Japanese prime minister who was assassinated in 2022), with whom I first deliberated on the creation of this bridge. Several developmental projects were inaugurated when Maharashtra, for the first time, got the double-engine government. The Atal Setu is a result of combined efforts of the Central and State governments,” Modi said.
PM Modi's dig at Congress
PM Modi, during his address, also took a dig at the former UPA government saying, “The people who ruled for decades did not care about the country's time and tax money, hence in the earlier era, no project either got off the ground and remained pending for decades.”
“The planning of Atal Setu was also going on many years ago but we got the good fortune to complete it…Today, on the one hand, there are mega-campaigns to improve the lives of the poor, while on the other hand, mega-projects are going on in every corner of the country,” the PM added.
About the Atal Setu
PM Modi on Friday inaugurated India's longest sea bridge, known as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Trans Harbour Link, or Atal Setu, in Navi Mumbai. The bridge is a six-lane, 21.8-km-long bridge built at a cost of over ₹18,000 crore. It originates from Sewri in Mumbai and terminates at Nhava Sheva in Uran taluka in Raigad district.
The bridge is said to provide faster connectivity to Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport and also reduce travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa, and South India. It will also improve connectivity between Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port.