Shillong, May 6: The long-awaited operationalization of Baljek Airport in Garo Hills is finally in sight, with the Meghalaya government on Tuesday signing crucial agreements on Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of the airport with the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The Meghalaya Transport Department signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Communications, Navigation & Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) for the airport with the AAI at the Baljek Airport in West Garo Hills. The MoU will enable AAI to operate 20-seater aircraft, marking the formal beginning of air connectivity for the Garo Hills region.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who attended the signing ceremony, hailed the development as a significant step forward. He assured of government’s commitment to progressively upgrade the airport to accommodate larger aircraft such as the ATR-72.

He further highlighted the potential of Baljek Airport as a logistics hub for the region given its geographical advantage closest to neighbouring countries. “The operationalization of the airport is us laying the foundations for that vision for the next 30-50 years,” he emphasised.

As part of the agreement, AAI will take over the airport on an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) basis for 20-seater aircraft operations and initiate the process to obtain the license for operating the airport.

Earlier, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had submitted the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) prepared in the years 2010 and 2017 based on which the State Government acquired 56.5 acres of additional land.

The State requested AAI to take over the airport on an “as is where is” basis to initiate the necessary development and operational procedures. In response, AAI expressed willingness to take over the airport and requested acquisition of 125 acres for Phase-I (including the earlier 56.5 acres), with a future addition of 115 acres for Phase-II in 2020.

Baljek Airport is located in Jengjal, about 30 kilometers from Tura, the district headquarters of West Garo Hills. Initially inaugurated in 2008 by then President Pratibha Patel, with the first successful landing and takeoff of a 20-seater Dornier 228, the airport has remained non-functional ever since.

Baljek Airport is the second airport in Meghalaya, with the other one in Umroi in Ri Bhoi District – Shillong Airport. Shillong Airport is a busy airport with regular flights to Kolkata, Delhi, Agartala, Dimapur and few other destinations. It currently operates ATR-72 aircrafts. Work is underway to expand the runway of the airport to accommodate larger aircrafts such as Airbus 320 and Boeing 737.

Watch

Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.

Also, Follow us on-

Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub

Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020

Instagram- www.instagram.com/ne_media_hub

Download our app from playstore – Northeast Media Hub