Infra accelerates in NE states close to China border

Guwahati: States along the northern borders with China are getting a massive infrastructure push. From underwater tunnels to highway-based emergency landing facilities, infrastructure is on a roll.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed on the emergency runway at Moran in upper Assam with a Hercules C130J aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday.

Several combat aircraft of IAF conducted the flypast over the venue with Sukhoi 30MKI, Rafale and the indigenously made advanced light helicopter of the Indian Air Force.


This is the first such highway-based emergency landing facility in the northeastern states. Later, addressing booth-level BJP workers in Guwahati, Modi said, "The landing of an Air Force aircraft on a highway in Moran reflects Assam's growing strength."

He said there was a time when the northeast was associated with broken roads, but today, highways are being built where even aircraft can land.

The PM said the new emergency landing strip symbolises a New India that is fully prepared to defend itself.

Modi said that in seventy years of Congress rule, only three bridges were built over the river Brahmaputra. In the last ten to eleven years, BJP-NDA has completed five major bridges.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Friday approved the construction of a 4-Lane Access-Controlled Greenfield connectivity road from Gohpur on NH15 to Numaligarh on 715 section, including 15.79 km of road-cum-rail tunnel under the Brahmaputra to be developed at a total cost of ₹18,662 crore in Assam.

Currently, connectivity between Numaligarh on NH715 and Gohpur on NH15 is 240 km - from the existing Kaliabhomora road bridge near Silghat on NH-52 which takes six hours through Numaligarh, Kaziranga National Park and Biswanath Town.

This would be the first underwater road-cum-rail tunnel in India and second in the world. The project will provide significant benefit to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and other northeastern states. This will enhance the efficiency of freight movement, reduce logistics cost and drive socio-economic growth in the region.

On March 9, 2024, the Sela Tunnel project - constructed at a cost of ₹825 crore, including two tunnels and 8.780 km of approach road - was inaugurated. The total length of the project, including the tunnels, the approach and link roads is around 12 km. Of the two tunnels, the first is a single-tube tunnel of 980 metres in length, and the second is 1.5 km long with an escape tube for emergencies.

The tunnel, stretching through the Sela-Charbela ridge and constructed with the New Austrian Tunneling Method, is the world's longest bilane tunnel at an altitude of 13,000 feet.

It has been excavated below the 4,200-metre Sela Pass, which connects the Tawang district with the rest of Arunachal Pradesh and is often closed due to snowfall and landslides. The tunnel is expected to provide access to Tawang and other forward areas bordering China throughout the year, enhancing the strategic and operational capabilities of the Army. China often claims Tawang as part of its territory claiming it as part of larger Tibet.

Referring to the Trans-Arunachal Highway, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu recently said the nearly 1,800-km corridor, stretching from Tawang to Longding, has reduced travel time and improved access to district headquarters across the state.

He cited examples of districts where journeys that once took over 12 hours can now be completed in about five hours. The CM said the upcoming Frontier Highway, a strategic border road project, has been approved by the Centre. On border area development, Khandu said the vibrant villages programme, launched from Arunachal in 2021, has brought significant benefits to frontier regions by improving connectivity, livelihood options and basic infrastructure.