Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 25
Hope for seeing the much anticipated Greenfield airport at Ciethu, Kohima may take some time with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India terming the project proposed by the Nagaland Government as ‘financially unviable.’
Even though the project is technically feasible, the “financial implication of site development is exorbitant making the project financially unviable,” the Parliament was reportedly informed on July 25.
This information was provided by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on July 25, stated an official statement issued via Press Information Bureau (PIB). He giving details on development in the region under ‘North Eastern Region Vision 2020.’
According to reply, the assessment that the Greenfield airport in Ceithu is financially unviable was an outcome of the feasibility study conducted by the multi-disciplinary team comprising officials from Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and AAI in August, 2018.
It must be noted that the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu assured Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on June 18 to send a technical team soon to ‘do all the necessary assessment for the final approval at the earliest.’ It was unclear whether the Minister’s statement reflected the position after the reassessment or it is in progress.
This is not the first time that the proposalwas rejected. In 2006, a central government team had carried out a field assessment for the ambitious project, which was however, nullified. Nagaland, which presently has one airport in Dimapur, was expecting to have a second aerodrome close to the state capital, if the project gets a nod from the Union government.
