Assam government to hand over land to Civil Aviation Ministry for development of airports

Guwahati, April 13: In a bid to expand and modernise airports of Silchar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, and Lakhimpur, the Assam Government will hand over land to Civil Aviation Ministry by May 10.

The announcement was made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday during the inauguration of the Flying Training Organisation (FTO) at Lilabari Airport in Assam's Lakhimpur district.

Sarma said that the Government of Assam has recently handed over 84 acres of land for the development of basic strip and construction of isolation bay for the purpose.

The land acquisition process for Lakhimpur Airport, Dibrugarh Airport, Jorhat Airport and Silchar Airport has also started and acquisition process of Silchar Airport is almost completed while the land acquisition for Dibrugarh Airport is almost over, informed CM Sarma.

"For the land at Jorhat, I have recently released Rs.180 crore for this purpose. That means we are on the track and ready to hand over the land to the Civil Aviation Ministry by May 10, 2022," Sarma added.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday inaugurated the FTO at Lilabari Airport in Assam's Lakhimpur district. This is the first FTO of Northeast India. Redbird Aviation has established the Flying Training School at Lilabari Airport with an aim to help the youths of the North-Eastern region in the aviation sector.