No need to cut hills for Umroi airport expansion: Report

SHILLONG, Sep 25: The state’s Transport Department on Wednesday presented a detailed report to the Cabinet, exploring the possibility of expanding the Umroi Airport without cutting hills to operate larger aircraft such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
The new study avoids the earlier proposal of cutting hills, which would have entailed an expenditure of Rs 8,000 crore, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said.
He said in 2023, the state government sanctioned a comprehensive radar study of about 20 sq. km area surrounding the airport. The study, conducted in collaboration with the Airport Authority of India (AAI), yielded promising results.
He revealed that the study identified viable options for extending the runway within the existing airport premises, enabling Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 (170-180 seaters) to land. This will enable IndiGo and SpiceJet flights to operate from Umroi Airport.
While the government requires additional clearances and further discussions with the Centre, Sangma expressed optimism about the project’s prospects. He emphasised that the initial report is encouraging and that the government is hopeful to move forward.
“Since the DGCA is the authority, it is not correct on my part to say everything is on track. We now have a roadmap as the old studies were showing complicated challenges. We are hopeful (of a positive outcome) after meeting the DGCA,” he said.
The revised plan involves some land acquisition and construction but avoids flattening mountains as earlier studies suggested.
“We were earlier told we have to clear bigger mountains for bigger aircraft but that is not going to happen. Now, we know that our focus should be on the extension of the runway by clearing up some hurdles without any major chopping of the mountains and therefore, the cost is  going to be drastically less than what we had expected,” Sangma said.
He said the government can share more details after discussions with the Civil Aviation Ministry.
The Chief Minister also said the Revenue Department has been identifying land for acquisition to expand the Baljek Airport near Tura. “The AAI was not satisfied with the initial report and a detailed one is being worked out,” he said.