The Airports Authority of India spent an estimated Rs 645 crore developing the Donyi Polo airport. According to the officials, it would feature eight check-in counters and can hold 200 passengers during rush hour.

The 4,100 square metre Donyi Polo airport will be furnished with all contemporary amenities for travellers. According to the officials, it will include a 2,300 meter-long runway adequate for Boeing 747 takeoffs and landings.

The 600-MW Kameng hydropower project in West Kameng district and the first greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh, Donyi Polo Airport, were both officially opened by PM Modi on Saturday, November 19, greatly enhancing connectivity and tourism.

PM Modi laid the airport’s foundation stone in February 2019. The airport, according to state governor Brig (Retd) Dr. B D Mishra, will facilitate travellers and students studying in other states as well as simple transit for investors and in case of medical crises.

The airport, which will be named after “Donyi Polo,” a god worshipped by the state’s indigenous groups, would help the people of Arunachal Pradesh and upper Assam realise a significant dream.

It will be the third operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the North-East region to 16. From 1947 to 2014, only nine airports were built in the North-East. In a short span of eight years since then, the Modi Government has built seven airports in the North-East.

WHAT IS A GREENFIELD AIRPORT

An aviation facility with greenfield project features is referred to as a greenfield airport. The designation takes into account specific environmental factors, such as commissioning, planning, and building procedures that are typically started from scratch, as well as the use of previously undeveloped or vacant greenfield land, for example.

While in the natural world a “green field” is a large area of undeveloped land (such as a meadow, prairie, or grassland), in this context the term “greenfield” refers to a project that is unrestricted by previous work or existing infrastructure. (A brownfield, meanwhile, renovates or enhances already-existing infrastructures.)