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Swarajya Staff
Jan 16, 2019, 03:05 PM | Updated 03:05 PM IST
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In a bid to boost tourism initiatives in Northeast India, the capital of the state of Arunachal Pradesh will soon have another airport, reports The Times of India.
The new airport will reportedly be named Hollongi Airport and has been given approval by the Finance Ministry. The said airport will be built in Itanagar and will cost around Rs 1,055 crore.
The airport will be built at a distance of some 25 km from Itanagar and will have state-of-the-art infrastructure.
It also promises to have a 2,200-metre runway. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said this new airport in Arunachal Pradesh would be better than the recently opened Pakyong Airport in Sikkim.
Based on demand, flight services from Hollongi may even be extended to international destinations, Sinha was quoted as saying by Financial Express. A greenfield airport is one in which the facility is made from scratch without destroying any existing structure.
Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju, has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approving the project. “Finally, the long pending dream of having our own airport at the capital of Arunachal Pradesh has been approved,” he tweeted.
Finally, the long pending dream of having our own Airport at Capital of Arunachal Pradesh has been approved today at an estimated cost of â¹1055 crores. The efforts of Prime Minister @narendramodi ji connect North-East & it's transformation is taking shape. pic.twitter.com/ijHmVIcaFv
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) January 11, 2019
The runway dimension will make Hollongi Airport fit enough for jet aircraft as well.