Sangareddy (Telangana), March 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that Hyderabad and Telangana will get a new identity with the Civil Aviation Research Organization (CARO) Centre.

He said the first of its kind aviation centre in the country, which has come up at Begumpet Airport, will give a platform for aviation startups, research and skill development.

The Prime Minister said CARO will create employment opportunities for youth in the aviation sector.

He noted that the aviation sector in India is setting new records, the number of airports have doubled in 10 years and new employment opportunities are being created in the sector. 'In this context, CARO will have an important role to play,' he said

On the second day of his visit to Telangana, the Prime Minister dedicated CARO to the nation at a programme held here. He inaugurated, dedicated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth Rs 7,200 crore. These projects encompass multiple key sectors like road, rail, petroleum and natural gas.

The Airports Authority of India has set up CARO at a cost of more than Rs 350 crore to upgrade and enhance the Research and Development (R&D) activities in the civil aviation sector. It is envisaged to provide a global research platform for the aviation community through in-house and collaborative research to provide indigenous and innovative solutions.

Stating that modern infrastructure is vital to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat, PM Modi said his government allocated Rs 11 lakh crore in the Union Budget. 'We are trying to see that Telangana get maximum benefit,' he said.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G. Kishan Reddy, state ministers Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Konda Surekha and MP K. Laxman were also present.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the six-laning of the 30 km long Pune-Hyderabad (Sangareddy X Road-Madinaguda) section of NH-65. The project with an estimated cost of Rs 1,300 crore will provide improved connectivity to IT, industrial corridor and educational institutions like the IIT in the region.

He inaugurated four-laning of 40 km long Kandi to Ramsanpalle section of NH-161 at a cost of Rs 1,540 crore. This will reduce travel time from Hyderabad to Nanded by about three hours and enhance connectivity to religious places in Nanded. The project is a part of Indore-Hyderabad Economic Corridor and will facilitate seamless passenger and freight movement between Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated the upgradation of 47-km long Miryalaguda to Kodad Section of NH-167 to two lanes with paved shoulders. The project completed at a cost of Rs 320 crore will improve connectivity and boost tourism as well as economic activity and industries in the region.

The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the Indian Oil Paradip-Hyderabad Product Pipeline. The 1,212 km product pipeline with a capacity of 4.5 MMTPA traverses through the states of Odisha (329 km), Andhra Pradesh (723 km) and Telangana (160 km). The pipeline, whose cost is Rs 3,340 crore, will ensure safe and economical transportation of petroleum product from Paradip Refinery to delivery stations at Visakhapatnam, Atchutapuram, and Vijayawada (in Andhra Pradesh), and Malkapur near Hyderabad (in Telangana).

He said this project strengthens the government's resolve for sustainable development. 'In coming days, we will speed up the process to achieve Viksit Bharat through Viksit Telangana,' he said.

PM Modi inaugurated the doubling and electrification of Sanathnagar-Moula Ali rail line along with six new station buildings. The entire 22 route kms of the project has been commissioned with automatic signalling and has been completed as part of the MMTS (Multi Modal Transport Service) Phase - II project.

As part of it, six new station buildings have come up at Ferozguda, Suchitra Centre, Bhudevi Nagar, Ammuguda, Neredmet and Moula Ali Housing Board stations. Doubling and electrification work paves the way for the introduction of passenger trains for the first time in this section. It will help improve punctuality and overall speed of trains in the region by reducing the burden on other highly saturated sections.

The Prime Minister flagged-off the inaugural MMTS Train Service from Ghatkesar-Lingampalli via Moula Ali-Sanathnagar. This train service extends the popular suburban train service in the Hyderabad-Secunderabad twin city regions to new areas for the first time. It connects the new areas in the eastern part of the city like Cherlapalli, Moula Ali with the Western part of the twin city region. The safe, fast and economic mode of transport connecting the eastern with the western part of the twin city region will be highly beneficial for commuters.

/IANS