OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the ambitious Donyi Polo Airport near here this week, officials said.
The Prime Minister will arrive here on October 30 next to inaugurate the airport at Hollongi, 15 kilometers away from the state capital Itanagar, sources in the Central Government said.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu recently met the Prime Minister in New Delhi and requested him to inaugurate the greenfield airport here.
Modi would, however, skip the inauguration of the 600 MW Kameng hydro electric project in the West Kameng district of the State, the sources said.
Developed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at an estimated cost of Rs 645 crore, the Donyi Polo Airport is a greenfield one with eight check-in counters and will be able to accommodate 200 passengers during peak hours.
An aircraft of Indigo Airlines was successfully test-landed at the newly-constructed airport on October 18 this year, scripting a new chapter in the country's aviation history.
The airport, after it is commissioned, will be the first in Arunachal, the eastern-most State of the country, and bring it to the aviation map of the country.
The Lilabari airport, which is closest to the State capital, is located about 80 km away in the Lakhimpur district of Assam.
The new airport has a runway of 2,300 metres and is suitable for landing and take-off of Boeing 747s. With an area of 4,100 sq metres, it will be equipped with all modern facilities for passengers, sources said.
The Kameng hydroelectric project is the largest of its kind in the North-East and has been executed by the State-owned North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) Ltd at an estimated cost of around Rs 8,000 crore.
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