Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Monday claimed that upcoming viewing gallery on Zuari river in Goa will be a better tourist attraction than the renowned Eiffel Tower in Paris.
"The work on the Zuari bridge is going on. We have planned a viewing gallery by constructing two towers as part of this bridge. It will be a better tourist attraction then Eiffel Tower. It will have a restaurant and art gallery besides special spaces for small time vendors to sell arts and crafts,” Gadkari said.
The bridge on Zuari river is coming up parallel to an existing one on Panaji-Margao highway.
He said it is expected to be completed by September next year, but attempts are underway to open at least one lane before the scheduled completion date.
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Addressing a function to inaugurate the link of the national highway between Loutolim and an industrial estate located at Verna in South Goa, Gadkari said there will be parking space beneath the bridge, and people could arrive even in boats.
Gadkari also said work on the Mumbai-Goa national highway will be completed in the next one-and-half years, adding that difficulties encountered in some of the packages have now been addressed.
He said it was the dream of former Goa chief minister late Manohar Parrikar to create such infrastructure in the state and projects he had proposed were now being completed.
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The bridge on Mandovi river, which was inaugurated some time before Parrikar died (in March, 2019), was being used by 66,000 vehicles every day, which had reduced traffic jams in Panaji.
Projects worth Rs 12,000 crore had been implemented in Goa since 2014, Gadkari added.
Referring to the under-construction Mopa Airport, Gadkari said his ministry would complete a connector road at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore. (With PTI inputs)
