Palghar (Maharashtra): On Friday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to establish an airport in Palghar.
Fadnavis stated that he was appealing in light of developments in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), which includes Mumbai, Vasai, Virar, and Palghar.
“I would like to make a request today. Ports including Vadhvan Port are being developed by reclamation of sea area. Airports are also designed with marine reclamation in many places around the world. Mumbai will grow even more in the coming period. Vasai Virar, Palghar will also grow exponentially.
“Today, we are laying the foundation stone for the Vadhvan Port. Along with this, if we also take a decision about the airport and build a third big airport in Palghar after Mumbai and the upcoming Navi Mumbai one, we can definitely change Mumbai,” said Fadnavis in his appeal to the PM.
Fadnavis’ request is critical because the Maharashtra government is now working on a spate of transport infrastructure development projects in MMR in order to boost the state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to $300 billion by 2030, up from $140 billion today.
The state administration has often stated that the Mumbai airport is already overcrowded. It believes that the opening of the planned Navi Mumbai International Airport in March 2025 will help decongest the airport while streamlining aviation traffic.
Fadnavis’ demand is particularly significant because the completion of the Vadhvan Port is estimated to create 12 lakh direct and roughly 1 crore indirect jobs in Maharashtra and the country.
The port will improve maritime connectivity and strengthen India’s status as a global trading hub.
“Today is a day to be written in golden letters in history. Mumbai is the financial capital of the country, and because of Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, it has become number one.
“Now, the Vadhvan port, which is three times larger than the two ports, is under construction. For the last 30 to 40 years, we have become number one because of Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port. Now, Maharashtra will remain number one for the next 50 years due to the development of Vadhvan Port. All this has become possible because of PM Modi,” said Fadnavis.
Fadnavis said that the PM had accorded the status of national port to Vadhvan.
“In this, we won all the way to the Supreme Court. Today the situation is that the Vadhvan Port development work was launched by the PM. In the history of any country, there is one person who becomes the turning point for the development of the nation. The name of PM Modi will also be recorded in history. If anyone has done the work of taking India forward, it is PM Modi,” he added.
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–IANS
