PM Modi lays foundation stone for Hollongi Airport

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit to the North-Eastern states, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the greenfield airport at Hollongi and launched an upgraded and retrofitted airport at Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh. The greenfield airport will help those travelling from Itanagar. At a distance of 80 km, the nearest airport to Itanagar presently is at Lilabari in Assam.

Due to disagreements in the selection of the site, the ambitious greenfield airport project has been delayed for many years, officials said. The Tezu airport will connect Guwahati, Jorhat and Hollongi, Modi said, inaugurating the airport in the Lohit district through a remote.

"We have laid the foundation stone for a greenfield airport at Hollongi. Like the other greenfield airport, this too shall be completed on time," said PM Modi.

New DD channel launched

PM Modi also launched the DD Arun Prabha Channel, which is the 24th channel run by Doordarshan, at IG Park in Itanagar, besides unveiling several other development projects in the state. "Today I got the opportunity to inaugurate or lay the foundation of projects worth Rs 4,000 crore. Additional projects worth Rs 13,000 crore are in progress in the state," Modi said.

Emphasising on power generation, Modi inaugurated 12 hydroelectric projects of 110 MW. The PM is also set to lay the foundation stone of the Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh to provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang Valley for civilians as well as security forces throughout the year.

From Itanagar, PM Modi will travel to Guwahati to launch the North East Gas Grid, which will provide uninterrupted availability of natural gas across the region. Following which, Modi will also inaugurate a Hollong modular gas processing plant in Tinsukia, Assam.

PM Modi will also travel to Agartala for the last leg of his visit. He will set off the Garjee – Belonia railway line by unveiling a plaque at Swami Vivekananda stadium.