NEW DELHI, Nov 2 (PTI): The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal to name the new airport in Arunachal Pradesh as ‘Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar’.
The greenfield airport at Hollongi in Itanagar is being developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) with the help of the Centre and the state government at a cost of Rs 646 crore.
An official release said the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the naming of the greenfield airport as ‘Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar’.
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The resolution was passed by the Arunachal Pradesh government to name the airport as ‘Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar’.
“It reflects the people’s reverence of the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo) to symbolise the traditions and rich cultural heritage of the state,” the resolution said.
The central government gave its ‘in-principle’ approval for development of the airport in January 2019.
Presently, two airports, viz., Tezu and Pasighat are operational in Arunachal Pradesh. In line with the Prime Minister’s vision of developing the North-East region as the growth engine of India, the Donyi Polo Airport will be the third operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the North-East region to 16. Till 2014, there were 9 operational airports in the region. Aircraft movements have increased by 113%, from 852 per week in the year 2014 to 1817 per week in 2022.
Furthermore, the requirement of a greenfield airport at Hollongi, Itanagar was a long pending demand of the people of Arunachal Pradesh.
Currently, there are 131 operational airports in the country, according to data available on the civil aviation ministry website.
