Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao on Wednesday addressed the joint session of the state legislature and announced a host of development projects. At the same time, he also said that the Shivaji memorial off Mumbai’s coast would be completed by 2019. The governor gave the outline of the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Shiv Sena government’s plan on infrastructure development including Metro, smart cities and port connectivity with the railways.

Mr Rao said, “I am happy to inform that all clearances have been obtained for constructing the national monument of the revered Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. A project management consultant has already been appointed for this purpose. The government intends to complete the work before 2019,” he said, adding, “The government has already announced the construction of a memorial for late Balasaheb Thackeray at Dadar, and action is in progress to set it up at the earliest. In December 2015, the government has allotted land at Aurangabad for a memorial of DCM and former Union minister late Gopinath Munde.”

Mr Rao assured that the 11 kilometre-long Belapur-Pendar Metro Project will be completed by July 2017. To improve the public transport system in the urban area of the state, the works of Mumbai Metro Rail Line-3, and also of Nagpur and Pune Metro Projects will commence soon, he said.

“Out of 118-kilometre Metro Rail Project planned for the next three-four years, the Dahisar to Dadabhai Nauroji Nagar route of 18.5 kilometres and the Dahisar (east) to Andheri (east) route of 16.5 kilometre with an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore have been approved,” he said.

The government has entrusted Cidco with the responsibility for the development of a smart city NAINA that consists of 30 towns around Navi Mumbai International Airport. The state government has notified a 600 square-kilometre area for this purpose.

“Cidco has plans to invest Rs 35,000 crore for developing South Navi Mumbai as a smart city covering seven towns with a total area of about 7,700 hectares. Affordable housing, metro corridors, economic and infrastructure development projects along with port city development will be the main focus of this project, which will be completed in the next four years.

He also announced the setting up of the Maharashtra Railway Infrastructure Development Company as a joint venture with the ministry of Railways, which will expedite implementation of railway projects in the state. The government has also decided to participate by way of equity in port-rail connectivity projects for Jaigad Port and Dighi Port and also to buy 26 per cent shares in the satellite port project of JNPT at Wadhwan.

The governor also said that the Navi Mumbai International Airport had received excellent response in the qualifying round of global tenders. “The target is that the first flight should take off from the new airport in 2019. It is proposed that necessary financial assistance be given to complete the work of Shirdi Airport,” he said.