Shillong, May 7: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday announced that the long-awaited expansion of Shillong Airport at Umroi is set to begin soon after the Centre awarded the work order for the project earlier this month, a move expected to significantly improve Meghalaya’s air connectivity and tourism potential.
Speaking at a programme held at Orchid Lake Resort in Umiam, the Chief Minister said the Government of India issued the work order on April 1 and construction activities are expected to commence shortly.
“I am happy to inform you that the work for the expansion of the runway has already been allotted. It was allotted on April 1 by the Government of India, and therefore, the runway work will start very soon,” Sangma said .
The Chief Minister said the expansion is expected to be completed within around 15 months and would allow larger commercial aircraft to operate directly from Shillong.
“We should be able to have larger aircraft coming into Shillong. This will be a great game changer for the tourism sector,” he added. The expansion project, estimated to cost around Rs 500 crore, includes a major upgrade of the airport’s infrastructure. Under the plan, the terminal building area will be expanded to nearly 10,500 square metres, while improvements will also be carried out on the runway, taxiway and apron facilities.
At present, Shillong Airport mainly handles smaller aircraft due to the short runway length. Following the expansion, the airport is expected to accommodate Airbus A320 aircraft and similar larger planes, marking a major shift in Meghalaya’s aviation capacity.Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said the upgraded apron would be able to park up to five Airbus A320 aircraft simultaneously, compared to the current capacity of four smaller aircraft.
The project is also expected to reduce Meghalaya’s heavy dependence on Guwahati for air travel. According to AAI representatives, the upgraded airport could pave the way for direct flights connecting Shillong with major Indian cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.Improved connectivity is expected to benefit not only tourism, but also trade, business travel and movement of passengers across the Northeast region.
The development comes after the Meghalaya High Court was informed that the airport expansion project has already received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.In a status report submitted before the court, the AAI stated that the contract for the expansion work has been awarded to KCC Buildcon Pvt Ltd. The report was submitted by Deputy Solicitor General of India Nitesh Mozika and has been taken on record by the court.
According to the work order, the contractor has been given 18 months to complete the project, including a three-month period accounting for rainfall and weather-related disruptions. The timeline will begin from the 10th day after issuance of the formal work order.The court was also informed that safety-related documents prepared during a stakeholders’ meeting held on April 8 have already been forwarded to the AAI headquarters for technical vetting before being submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The airport expansion project has long been seen as one of Meghalaya’s key infrastructure priorities, with demands growing over the years for better air connectivity to support tourism, investment and economic growth in the state.
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