GUWAHATI:
The Assam cabinet, on February 2, approved Rs 156 crore for the acquisition of private land to facilitate the expansion of Jorhat (Rowriah) airport by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The process of land acquisition will start eight years after the AAI had proposed expansion of facilities at the airport with a plan to accommodate five aircraft in place of one aircraft, as is the case now.
On August 25, 2021, Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had written to Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma drawing his attention to the matter of land requirements of 50 acres for the expansion, and had requested him to intervene so that the process could be expedited.
The Centre-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) has embarked upon the development and expansion of airports in the country at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore in the next four to five years in order to meet the growing passenger demand.
The Union government is also looking for 78.5 acres at Dibrugarh Airport, 109 acres at Lilabari Airport and 116,5 acre at Silchar Airport.