Defence land given for Jorhat civil airport expansion

Guwahati, Aug 4 (UNI) The expansion and upgradation plans of the Jorhat airport in Assam got a boost with the Ministry of Defence agreeing to transfer its land under possession of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Defence Minister A K Antony conveyed this to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi through a letter, a release informed here today.

The Jorhat air base is a strategically important base for India due to its location which is close to the Chinese border.

Working permission has been granted to the AAI/Ministry of Civil Aviation for utilisation of two acres of defence land at the Jorhat airport for expansion of existing IAF apron being used for civil flights.

Mr Gogoi had taken up the matter with the Defence Minister and requested him to hand over the defence land to the AAI so that more flights could be accommodated at the Jorhat Civil Airport at Rowriah.

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