Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated two landmark transit projects worth nearly $4 billion, marking another milestone in his administration’s effort to modernize infrastructure in the world’s most populous country.

Modi said the new "connectivity projects will strengthen the city’s position as a global hub of growth and opportunity" and that "India is investing in infrastructure aimed at improving ease of living in India." The projects include the new Navi Mumbai International Airport and the final phase of the newest metro line connecting southern and central Mumbai via the city’s first underground track. Modi took a tour of the new Navi Mumbai International Airport with billionaire Gautam Adani and his son Jeet.

The Adani Group has developed the project.

It is India’s largest greenfield airport project, developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and is the second international airport for Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

The seaside metropolis, which is also India’s financial capital, is overhauling its decades-old infrastructure, riding a broader wave as billions of dollars gush into India’s logistics projects. Union and state government spending is on the rise and assets in so-called infrastructure investment trusts, which allow individuals to invest in projects, are expected to surge in the coming years.

The airport, built to resemble a lotus — India’s national flower lotus — will span over 1,160 hectares in Navi Mumbai, a satellite city east of Mumbai. It’s designed to handle 90 million passengers per year over time and will be India’s first airport to be connected by a water taxi.

The new terminal is expected to ease aviation bottlenecks at the city’s sole existing airport that’s already hemmed in with slum clusters on one side.

It would also boost real estate development of the surrounding area in Navi Mumbai. Commercial flight operations are expected to begin in December, according to Adani Airport Holdings Ltd’s Chief Executive Arun Bansal.

Initially, it will have the capacity to handle 20 million passengers every year, he said, adding that the group will invest another Rs 300 billion in the second phase of the airport development.

The final phase of Metro-3 will connect the city’s southern peninsula to the northern suburbs and offer access to the existing airport, alleviating severe overcrowding on the rail system and congested streets. It will connect to the Bandra Kurla Complex, the city’s major business district, where construction has started on the terminus for India’s first high-speed rail. The bullet train will connect Mumbai with Ahmedabad.

Modi also launched the Mumbai One app which offers commuters a range of benefits, including integrated mobile ticketing across multiple public transport operators.

He also inaugurated the Short-Term Employability Program (STEP) initiative of Department of Skill, Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation in Maharashtra.