Runway expansion halted
SHILLONG: The runway expansion project for Shillong airport is yet to cross land acquisition hurdles.
The project, which was put on the priority list during the 65th North Eastern Council (NEC) plenary session in May, has not been taken up since the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has not submitted its detailed project report, said R. Muivah, secretary of the nodal agency for the development of the region.
“It (AAI) says it cannot submit the DPR since there are still some land disputes and 2-3 land owners have not been paid their compensation,” he added.
The NEC secretary also assured that the council would arrange for funds for the project worth around Rs 184 crore from other sources.
Reacting to a query on introducing more flights from the airport to other parts of the country, Muivah said the connectivity would improve largely once the regional aerial connectivity scheme is implemented where the Centre would provide funds on a 90:10 ratio.
Only Assam and Manipur have signed the memorandum while Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh are requesting the NEC to support the states with 10 percent funding under the scheme.
“We have held a meeting and we have informed the Ministry of DoNER about the request and if it is approved, than we would give 10 percent assistance to Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh,” said Muivah.
