SHILLONG: To improve air connectivity, the Centre has approved three greenfield airports in the Northeast region, an official statement said on Saturday.
Of the three, the Pakyong airport in Sikkim is already under construction and Rs 264 crore has already been invested in to it, while the other two will be in Itanagar and Cheithu in Nagaland.
Besides, Rs 94.14 crore has been approved as viability gap funding to Alliance Air for providing air services in the NE region has been approved for 2010 and 2011.
The development of the Tezu airport, at a cost of Rs 79.00 crore, has also been approved, the statement said, adding the project is being implemented by the Airports Authority and is expected to be ready by March 2012.
On the road development front, the statement said,"so far, about 596 km was completed in 2009-10. About 2,319 km of roads and highways were developed in Arunachal. Bids were received for four projects with a total length of 776 km, which will be awarded shortly. The Trans-Arunachal Highway forms a key part of this initiative," the statement added.
It said the mega rail-cum-road bridge at Bogibeel over the Brahmaputra which has already been taken up will provide an important link between Assam and Arunachal.
"Conversion of the metre-gauge routes of the Lumding-Silchar-Jiribam, the Badarpur-Kumarghat and the Rangiya-Murkongselek, to broad-gauge is being done on priority.
"The capital cities of the NE states are getting progressively connected by rail. Guwahati and Agartala are already connected. Projects for connecting the capitals of Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal have also been taken up," it said.
Construction of the Assam gas cracker project, which is expected to generate substantial downstream investment and employment, is in full swing and Rs 744 crore has been spent till March. The project is scheduled for completion in April 2012, the statement added.
