SHILLONG: Land hurdle for the expansion of the Umroi airport is over and work on the safety and security infrastructure is progressing in a steady pace, says a North Eastern Council (NEC) report.
NEC’s monthly progress report says the boundary wall of the airport is 83 per cent complete and work on the ATC tower is 5 per cent done.
The report stated that the project was delayed by 26 months due to land acquisition problems. The deadline was March 2015.
The safety and security infrastructure project at the airport was sanctioned in 2013 with an approved cost of around Rs 28 crore. NEC released Rs 5 crore in 2013 and an equal amount in March this year.
The High Court of Meghalaya, while taking exception to the undue delay in expanding the airport, in December 2015 set a deadline of four months.
But the order was stayed by the apex court after a few land owners from Nongsder moved the court because they did not receive compensation.
NEC had then promised to arrange for funds for the expansion of the runway.
The tourism industry in the State is expected to receive a boost once the airport, which till date has only one ATR flight connecting Shillong with Kolkata, is fully functional.
