The wait for the greenfield airport project in Hollongi continues. The project, which has been in the offing for the last many years, is expected to be completed by August 2022. Chief Minister Pema Khandu along with Civil Aviation Minister Nakap Nalo visited the project site on Thursday. It appears that the CM was not happy with the progress of the work. Dinesh Chandra R Agarwal Infracon Pvt Ltd, a Gujarat-based firm, is executing the project. Even though August 2022 has been set as the deadline, the work progress on the ground is yet to pick pace.
The executing firm should engage more machineries and manpower to speed up the work. This is a very prestigious project whose foundation stone Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid. With Chief Minister Pema Khandu also personally monitoring the progress, the stake is very high. There are other issues like water supply, power, approach road, boundary wall, land acquisition, rehabilitation of displaced Chakma settlers, etc, which are being taken care of by the state government. The state government also needs to prioritize and complete these tasks sooner. Itanagar has the dubious distinction of being the only capital which does not have air connectivity till date. The Hollongi airport, besides providing the much-needed air connectivity, is also expected to boost the economy of the state. Therefore every effort should be put in to complete the project as per the deadline. Massive responsibility lies with Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the contractor, Dinesh Chandra R Agarwal Infracon Pvt Ltd. The hope of the entire capital region hinges on their shoulders.