Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a tour of Maharashtra and Goa on Sunday. During this, he will inaugurate the Mopa International Airport in Goa and inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 75,000 crore in Maharashtra.

Built at a cost of Rs 2,870 crore, the foundation stone of the airport at Mopa in North Goa was laid by PM Modi in November 2016. This will be the second airport in Goa. The first is located in Dabolim. Dabolim Airport has a capacity of 8.5 million passengers per annum (mppa). After the Mopa airport comes into operation, the total capacity here will be 13 MPPA. Dabolim Airport connects 15 domestic and six international destinations. Through Mopa airport, their number will increase to 35 domestic and 18 international destinations. Apart from this, the Prime Minister will address the closing ceremony of the 9th World Ayurveda Congress and will also inaugurate three National Institutes of AYUSH.

Apart from these projects, PM will also flag off the Vande Bharat Express train running between Nagpur to Bilaspur and will start the first phase of Nagpur Metro. PM will also lay the foundation stone of the second phase of Nagpur Metro. Also, at a public function in Vidarbha, the Prime Minister will launch rail projects worth over Rs 1,500 crore.

Like airports, the Modi government is also trying to strengthen the road network. In this sequence, the PM will inaugurate the first phase of the Samriddhi Highway being built between Nagpur-Mumbai. The first phase of 520 km from Nagpur to Mumbai of the total 701 km long expressway has been completed. This expressway, being built at a cost of 55,000 crores, will pass through 10 districts of Maharashtra and major urban areas of Amravati, Aurangabad and Nashik. The expressway will help improve connectivity to 14 other districts nearby, thereby helping in the development of about 24 districts in the state, including the regions of Vidarbha, Marathwada and northern Maharashtra.

Number of airports doubled in eight years: Since 2014, the number of airports in the country has almost doubled from 74 to more than 140. The government plans to develop and operate 220 airports in the next five years.

A day before PM Modi's visit to Maharashtra, former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has raised the issue of border dispute. Addressing the 42nd Marathwada Sahitya Sammelan in Jalna, he said that the Prime Minister should clarify his stand on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute issue. Maharashtra wants to know what is your opinion on the border dispute. Karnataka is determined to block the route. That's why first talk on the border dispute. After that inaugurate the highway.