PM likely to inaugurate greenfield airport, 600 MW power plant in Arunachal next week

Itanagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Arunachal Pradesh next week and inaugurate the greenfield airport in Itanagar and a 600 MW Kameng hydro electric power project, officials said on Wednesday.

A senior official of the state government said that the Prime Minister is likely to visit Arunachal Pradesh on October 27 or 28, though his tour schedule has not been finalised yet.

"The PM would visit Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh next week to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for several projects," said the official who didn't wish to be named.

He said that Chief Minister Pema Khandu recently met the Prime Minister in New Delhi and requested him to inaugurate the Donyi Polo greenfield airport in Itanagar, and the 600 MW capacity Kameng hydro electric power project.

With a 2,300 metre runway, the greenfield airport would be the first in Arunachal Pradesh to have the capacity to land big aircraft.

Spread over an area of 4,100 sq mt, the airport -- the state's third after Pasighat and Tezu airports -- is equipped with all the modern facilities for the passengers, sources in the Airport Authority of India (AAI) said.

The AAI undertook the Rs 650 crore project to develop the airport to boost air connectivity in the mountainous state.

An Airbus A320 of IndiGo successfully completed a test landing at the Donyi Polo airport on Tuesday.

"It's so satisfying and fulfilling to see IndiGo flight making a successful test landing at Donyi Polo airport. Ensuring better connectivity for our people is a top priority of my government. Rest assured, we'll ensure we've many more flights from Itanagar," Chief Minister Khandu tweeted.

The official quoted above said that the Kameng hydroelectric project is the largest of its kind in the northeast and has been executed by the state-owned North East Electric Power Corporation Ltd at an estimated cost of around Rs 8,000 crore.