Donyi Polo Airport

Itanagar, Aug 05: The greenfield airport at Hollongi near Itanagar, which will start operations on August 15, was named Donyi Polo Airport on Thursday, an official statement said.

The airport, about 15km from the state capital, was built at the cost of Rs 645 crore under the Centre’s Capital Connectivity Scheme.

It will be able to accommodate 200 passengers during peak hours. It will be the first in Arunachal Pradesh with a runway of 2,300 metres, suitable for operating Boeing 747s, one of the largest passenger aircraft.

“This name of the lone airport in the capital city will symbolise the age-old tradition and rich cultural heritage of the tribal state and also will reflect the people’s age-old indigenous reverence on the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo),” said a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office after the cabinet approved the name.

The first flight test landed at the airport on July 19.

At present, there is no airport in the vicinity of the state capital, the closest one being Lilabari airport in Assam’s North Lakhimpur district, around 80 km away.
Also Read: Hollongi greenfield airport in Arunachal to be inaugurated soon: AAI

With an area of 4,100 sqm, the airport is equipped with all modern facilities for passengers, officials said.

The terminal is an energy-efficient building with a rainwater harvesting system and sustainable landscape, they said.

The state cabinet also approved various proposals for the upgrade of health infrastructure.

Among these was the proposal for setting up six-bed intensive care unit facilities at BPGH Pasighat, and general hospitals in Aalo, Bomdila, Tezu, Khonsa, and Ziro at an estimated cost of Rs 6.06 crore.

Further, the cabinet was briefed about the actionable points of the meeting of chief ministers with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 24 in New Delhi.

“AAI’s newly built Hollongi greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh is all set to be inaugurated soon,” the AAI informed.

The airport is built in an area covering 685 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 660 crore. “The airport is suitable for the operations of Airbus-320 type of aircraft,” AAI said.