Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for the development of an inland waterway in the Krishna river between Muktyala and Vijayawada in the Andhra Pradesh capital region of Amaravati.
The vice president also dedicated seven national highway projects in the state to the nation while laying the foundation stone for six new projects.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Chowdary and others participated in the programme.
The 82-km inland waterway between Muktyala and Vijayawada is the Phase-1 of the National Waterway-4 under the Sagar Mala project and will be used mainly for transportation of cement and construction material for the new capital city Amaravati.
It will also provide connectivity to important tourist and pilgrimage spots by the river.
It will have four floating terminals at tourist spots Durga Ghat and Bhavani Island in Vijayawada and pilgrimage centres Vedadri and Amaravati.
The three fixed terminals at Muktyala, Ibrahimpatnam and Harishchandrapuram will handle cargo operations.
In Phase-2 of National Waterway-4, canal navigation will be developed between Vijayawada and Kakinada.
The two phases, running to a length of 315 km, will cost Rs 7,015 crore.
Among the highway projects for which foundation stone has been laid today is the 17.20-km four-lane bypass road to Vizianagaram town in north coastal Andhra that will cost Rs 430 crore.
The total cost of the 13 national highway projects launched today is Rs 4,153 crore.