Focus on improving air, rail and road connectivity: Arunachal CM Pema Khandu

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Saturday said the government is focused on improving air, rail, and road connectivity in the frontier state.

With Itanagar coming under the aviation map with the inauguration of the Donyi Polo airport near here, the people of the state will be immensely benefited, Khandu said at the inauguration programme of the airport.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the new Donyi Polo airport in Arunachal Pradesh. The airport is located at Hollongi around 15 kilometres from the state capital Itanagar.

The airport, which is the first greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh, has been developed in an area of over 690 acres, at a cost of more than Rs 640 crore. With a 2,300 metre runway, the airport is suitable for all weather day operations.

Terming the day as 'historic' for Arunachal Pradesh, Khandu said the greenfield airport took a little over 3 years to completion.

"Economic activities will get a new boost and witness a sharp rise with the airport becoming functional," he said.

Khandu said all the seven advanced landing grounds built in the state in the 1960s have been rebuilt and operationalised.

The Chief Minister said Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Airports Authority of India (AAI) will start air services within the state using fixed-wing Dornier 228 aircraft.

On the 600 MW Kameng Hydropower Station, Khandu said the run-of-the-river scheme to harness the hydropower of the Bichom and Tenga rivers (tributaries of Kameng river) got delayed due to various reasons for many years.

The Kameng project the construction of which began in February 2005 had missed several deadlines.

He said the project was fast-tracked only after the NDA government came to power in 2014.

The Chief Minister also said the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project will be commissioned in 2023.

With the commissioning of these projects, Arunachal Pradesh will contribute significantly to India's target of achieving a 5 trillion-dollar economy, Khandu added.

Earlier, Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said that with the inauguration of the airport, a long-cherished need of the people of the state has been fulfilled.

He said the inauguration of the airport and the start of the Kameng Hydropower station will change the development dynamics of the state.

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