Slamming previous government's in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the state was shown "false dreams" by the previous governments and they kept it in "deprivation" and "darkness".
Speaking on the occasion of the foundation laying stone ceremony of Noida International Airport here, PM Modi said, "Uttar Pradesh which the previous governments kept in deprivation and darkness, is making its mark not only nationally but also internationally."
The Prime Minister cited Jewar airport as an example of how the earlier governments in Uttar Pradesh and at the Center ignored the development of western Uttar Pradesh.
"Two decades ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of the state had conceptualised this project. But later this airport was entangled in the tussle of the earlier governments in Delhi and Lucknow for many years," he said.
PM Modi also informed that the previous government of Uttar Pradesh had written a letter to the central government and told that the project of this airport should be shelved.
"Now with the efforts of double engine government, we are witnessing the Bhumi Pujan of the same airport," he added.
The Prime Minister said "infrastructure is not part of politics for us but part of national policy (Rashtra Niti). We are making sure that the projects do not get stuck, do not hang in limbo or do not go astray. We try to ensure that the infrastructure work is completed within the stipulated time".
PM Modi today laid the foundation stone for Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia at the project site.
The airport is being developed by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of the project's Swiss concessionaire Zurich International Airport AG.
Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL) is developing Noida International Airport under the PPP model in close partnership with the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Government of India.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the International Airport near Jewar will be developed as an Aviation Hub which is conceived to provide all the modern, efficient and hi-tech facilities. The airport area when fully operational is expected to have Aero and Non-Aero activities along with MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) facilities.
The present project envisages an area of land requirement measuring 3500 acres. In the first phase of development, only 1327 hectares of land would be developed.Noida International Airport is strategically located, which is at a road distance of about 72 km from IGI Airport, 40 km from Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad respectively, 28 km from Greater Noida, 65 km from Gurugram and 130 km from Agra.
The projected cost of the proposed project is estimated at around Rs 15000- 20000 crore and the development of the first phase of the airport is being done at a cost of around Rs 10,050 crore.
The work at the airport is scheduled to be completed by 2024.
( With inputs from ANI )
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