Arunachal Pradesh: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the naming of a greenfield airport in Hollongi, Itanagar, as ‘Donyi Polo Airport’ on Wednesday. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the naming of the greenfield airport as ‘Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar,’ according to an official release.
The name reflects the Arunachal people’s reverence of the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo).
Union Cabinet chaired by PM @narendramodi ji approves naming of Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, Itanagar, the State Capital of Arunachal Pradesh as “Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar”.
The name reflects the Arunachal people’s reverence of the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo). pic.twitter.com/IVM4NV5sK0— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) November 2, 2022
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is developing a greenfield airport in Itanagar with the help of the Centre and the state government at a cost of Rs 646 crore.
“The state government of Arunachal Pradesh passed a resolution to name the airport ‘Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar,’ to reflect the people’s reverence of the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo) to symbolize the state’s traditions and rich cultural heritage,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a press release.
In January 2019, the Centre granted ‘in-principle’ approval for the development of Hollongi greenfield airport. Airports Authority of India (AAI) is developing the project at a cost of 646 crore with the help of the central government and the Arunachal Pradesh government.
The greenfield airport, with a 2,300-metre runway, is the first in Arunachal Pradesh to be capable of landing large aircraft. With eight check-in counters, the airport can accommodate 300 passengers during peak hours. It will be energy efficient and run on renewable energy.
The airport will also support night landings because it is equipped with homing and landing aids such as VOR, ILS, and satellite-based landing procedures.
The Hollongi airport is the state’s third, following Pasighat and Tezu, and the only one in the capital city. The central government had previously approved the establishment of a “greenfield airport” under the “Capital Connectivity Scheme” to provide fixed-wing air connectivity to the state capital.
Itanagar’s Donyi Polo airport is northeast India’s 16th airport. Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Lilabari, and Rupsi (Assam); Pasighat and Tezu (Arunachal Pradesh); Agartala (Tripura); Imphal (Manipur); Shillong (Meghalaya); Dimapur (Nagaland); Lengpui (Mizoram); and Pakyong (Mizoram) are the 15 operational airports in the north-east (Sikkim).
