Varanasi (UP), Mar 24 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, gifted 28 projects worth Rs 1,780 crore to his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi.

The projects include a ropeway that will ease traffic congestion and other infrastructure projects including ATC tower at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, 2 MW solar power plant at water works premises, Bhelupur; 800 KW solar power plant at Konia Pumping Station; new Community Health Centre at Sarnath; infrastructure improvement of Industrial estate at Chandpur and rejuvenation of temples of Kedareshwar, Vishweshwar and Omkareshwar Khand Parikrama.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that Varanasi had emerged as a new tourist destination with increased air connectivity.

He said that the tourist traffic had increased in the past few years due to availability of better facilities in the holy city.

He said that the people of Varanasi were equally responsible for rapid development because of their cooperation.

"Today, Varanasi is a hub for tourism and the local economy is also booming. The economy of eastern Uttar Pradesh is also benefitting because exports have increased," he said.

He said that the Integrated Pack House would benefit farmers of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The facility, to be the third such one in the state, will be used for the storage and packaging of vegetables and fruits, and to boost agricultural exports from the region.

The pack house was built on a 4,461 square feet area in Karkhiyaon at Rs 15.78 crore.

It is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment with the aim to ramp up the supply of Banarasi langra mango, cauliflower, green chilli and tomato, which are grown in abundance in eastern UP, to Japan, Australia, Korea and Europe.