Bhubaneswar, Jan 1 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the Metro Rail project during a programme at Ratagada in Barang area of Cuttack district. 'The foundation of a new Odisha in the New Year was laid today and the construction work will be completed in four years. The people of Odisha will get the benefits of Metro Train facility. Today will remain as a special day in the history of development of the state." He said that the Metro rail project will bring transformation in the transportation sector like the LAccMI public transport system which revolutionised the sector in rural pockets of the state. 'I have made a promise for Metro rail and today I am fulfilling it' added the CM. He said this project will further strengthen the relationship between Cuttack, the old capital city of the state and the new state capital, Bhubaneswar. Patnaik said in the first phase, the Metro rail will be laid from Bhubaneswar Airport to Trisulia. The 26-km long project will have 20 stations and Rs 6255.94 crore will be spent by the state government for this project. Terming it a flagship programme under the 5T initiative, he described this as the biggest ever investment in infrastructural development in the history of Odisha. "I have directed to prepare a master plan for the extension of Metro rail to Khordha, Puri and Cuttack," said Patnaik. The CM first announced the Metro railway project on April 1, 2023. The state cabinet gave the nod for the Metro rail project on November 14, 2023. The foundation stone was laid after completion of the detailed project report within four months of the cabinet approval. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been roped in as the turnkey consultant for the construction of the first phase of Bhubaneswar Metro rail project. The chairman of 5T, VK Pandian, Minister for Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department, Ashok Chandra Panda, Agriculture minister Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Usha Devi were present at the foundation laying ceremony. /IANS