Guwahati, Aug 30 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said his government will soon start construction of 1,000 bridges across the state.
Inaugurating a 2.6-km-long flyover from Kamakhya Gate to Maligaon in Guwahati, touted to be the longest in Assam, Sarma said the state government has completed 842 small and big bridges in recent times.
“I am happy to announce that work for another 1,000 bridges will be taken up soon. All these projects will be completed by 2026. People say that Guwahati is Northeast’s gateway, but we want to make it a gateway for South East Asia,” he said.
“Today we are opening the ‘Neelachal Flyover’ for the public. This was constructed on one of the busiest roads of Guwahati, and it was a huge challenge for the PWD department to complete on time,” he said.
The state’s PWD department carried out the project at an investment of Rs 420 crore.
“It required 18,000 MT of cement, 20,000 cubic MT of sand and 7,500 MT of steel, besides other materials,” Sarma said.
The chief minister also listed out around a dozen road projects in Guwahati and other towns of Assam, which are in different stages of planning and execution.
“At present, work on 22 big projects like flyovers and bridges over the Brahmaputra is underway. Out of these, 21 are at the last stage of completion,” he said.