PM Modi inaugurates Arunachal Pradesh's first greenfield airport: All you need to know

In a bid to boost connectivity and tourism in the Northeast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Arunachal Pradesh's first greenfield airport, Donyi Polo Airport, in Itanagar's Hollongi, as well as a 600-MW Kameng hydropower station in West Kameng district on Saturday, November 19. 

PM Modi laid the groundwork for the Greenfield Airport at Hollongi and inaugurated the retrofitted Tezu airport in 2019.

The airport, which is named after "Donyi Polo," a god revered by the state's indigenous communities, will help the people of Arunachal Pradesh and upper Assam realise a significant dream. It will be Arunachal Pradesh's third operational airport, bringing the region's total number of airports in the Northeast up to 16. In the Northeast, only nine airports were constructed between 1947 and 2014. Since then, the Modi government has built seven airports in the Northeast in just eight years.

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati, Imphal International Airport, Manipur, Silchar Airport, Assam, Dibrugarh Airport, Assam, Dimapur Airport, Nagaland, Agartala Airport, Tripura are some of the major airports in the Northeast.

The terminal at Hollongi, which has a peak handling capacity of 200 passengers per hour, was built at a cost of around Rs 955 crore, according to an official statement. It has been built on a 4,100 sq m area.

The airport, which is Arunachal Pradesh's first new airport, was built on a site spanning more than 690 acres at a cost of more than Rs 640 crore. The airport is suitable for daytime operations in all weather thanks to its 2,300 m runway. It will be the first airport in Arunachal Pradesh with a 2,300-metre runway, making it possible for the Boeing 747, one of the largest passenger aircraft, to land and take off.

"The airport terminal is a modern building, which promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy and the recycling of resources. Donyi Polo Airport will be the third operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the Northeast region to 16. From 1947 to 2014, only nine airports were built in the Northeast. In a short span of eight years since then, the Modi government has built seven airports in the Northeast," the official statement read.

On October 18, Indigo Airlines had a successful test landing of one of its aircraft at the brand-new terminal. According to a report quoting AAI General Manager Dilip Kumar Sajnani, in addition to IndiGo, Akasha and Flybig airlines have also expressed interest in starting flight operations from Donyi Polo airport.

Flights took off for the first time in 75 years at airports in five northeastern states: Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland.

Also Read: Northeast important to government’s plans of making air connectivity nation’s lifeline: Scindia