NATIONAL : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, built at a cost of more than Rs 17,840 crores in Navi Mumbai.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the bridge in December 2016.

PM Narendra Modi said, “Dreams are coming true 10 years later. The sea bridge is a reflection of Viksit Bharat… It shows India’s infrastructural prowess and march towards being a developed nation.”

The upcoming projects Navi Mumbai International Airport, the Coastal Road in Mumbai, AURIC (Aurangabad Industrial City), the Mumbai-Delhi Industrial Corridor, and the bullet train will boost Maharashtra’s economy in the years to come, he added.

Atal Setu has been constructed at a total cost of more than Rs 17,840 crore. It is about a 21.8 km long 6-lane bridge having about 16.5 km length over the sea and about 5.5 km on the land.

“I thank the government of Japan and remember the late Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. Both of us had vowed to complete the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project,” the PM said.

It is the longest bridge in India and also the longest sea bridge in India. It will provide faster connectivity to Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport and will also reduce the travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa, and South India.

It will also improve connectivity between Mumbai Port & Jawaharlal Nehru Port.