New Delhi, February 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit poll-bound Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Thursday to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development initiatives, including key power projects in Tamil Nadu.

While at around 11:30 AM on Thursday, the prime minister 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. PM Narendra Modi Speaks to Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami Over COVID-19 Scenario in the State.

In Tamil Nadu, the prime minister 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 Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry, with Tamil Nadu having the major share of about 65 per cent, it said.

The prime minister 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. The Bhavanisagar dam and the canal systems were completed in 1955. The Lower Bhavani System irrigates over 2 lakh acres of land in Erode, Tiruppur and Karur districts.

The extension, renovation and modernisation of Lower Bhavani System has been taken up at a cost of Rs 934 crore under NABARD Infrastructure Development Assistance, the PMO said.

The prime minister will also inaugurate the eight-laning of Korampallam Bridge and Rail Over Bridge (ROB) at V.O.Chidambaranar Port -- one of the major ports in India.

At present, 76 per cent of the cargo is transported through road from or to the Port using the existing Korampallam bridge, which was constructed in early 1964 with a 14-m wide carriageway.

In order to provide seamless evacuation of cargo and to avoid traffic congestion in the port area, the project of eight-laning of the existing Korampallam bridge and Rail Over Bridge has been implemented, the PMO said.

During his Tamil Nadu leg of the visit, the PM will lay the foundation stone for design, supply, installation and commissioning of a 5MW grid connected ground based solar power plant at V.O.Chidambaranar Port.

The project, to be set up at an estimated cost of about Rs 20 crore, will generate over 80 lakh units (KWH) per annum, meeting 56 per cent of the total energy consumption of the Port, thereby helping reduce carbon footprint of port operations.

With an aim to boost ease of living, the prime minister will inaugurate the tenements constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) scheme. These tenements have been constructed at a cost of over Rs 330 crore.

Each of these tenements, to be allotted to urban poor or slum dwellers, has a plinth area of 400 square feet and has been provided with a multipurpose hall, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and toilet.

The prime minister will also lay the foundation stone for development of Integrated Command and Control Centers (ICCC) in nine smart cities --Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Thanjavur, Vellore, Tiruchirappalli, Tiruppur, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi.

These ICCCs would be developed at a cost of about Rs 107 crore, and would act as a 24x7 support system, providing real time smart solutions for quicker services, with the aim of integrating essential government services and enabling data-based decision-making, the statement said.

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.

The prime minister will lay the foundation stone for development of Minor Port at Puducherry under Sagarmala scheme. Estimated to be built at Rs 44 crore, it will provide connectivity to Chennai and facilitate cargo movement for industries in Puducherry.

He will also lay the foundation stone of Synthetic Athletic Track, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in Puducherry. Modi will also inaugurate the Blood Centre at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, which will function as a research laboratory and a training centre for short-term and continuous blood bank personnel training in all aspects of transfusion. It has been set up at a cost of Rs 28 crore.

The prime minister will also inaugurate a 100-bed girls' hostel at Lawspet, Puducherry. It has been constructed for female athletes at a cost of about Rs 12 crore, under the aegis of Sports Authority of India. He will also inaugurate the reconstructed Heritage Marie Building.

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