Gangtok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to inaugurate the Pakyong airport today as it is ready to take landings and takeoff after a total nine years of its foundation stone laying ceremony was done. The airport is expected to improve the connectivity in the land-locked state located in the Himalayas and it will also boost tourism here.

Earlier to that, Sikkim was the only state that did not have a functional airport to use.

On Sunday, Prime Minister landed in the state capital Gangtok and there he was received by Governor Ganga Prasad and Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. And after the programme for the inauguration of the airport ends, Modi will head towards a school located in Pakyong to deliver his speech to the public.

“In Sikkim, I will be inaugurating the Pakyong Airport tomorrow, which will improve connectivity and benefit the people of Sikkim,” PM Modi tweeted on Sunday.

After the inauguration, the airport will have its first commercial flight from Pakyong that would begin from October 4, Airport Director R Manjunatha said. The flights will be operated to and from Delhi, Guwahati, and Kolkata at the start and for this SpiceJet has come forward to operate 78-seater Bombardier Q400 flights every day.

The area of the airport is spread over 201 acres and is located on top of a hill, which is about two kilometers above Pakyong village. The height of the airport is about 4,500 above sea level, Sikkim Chief Secretary AK Srivastava said.

The estimated cost for the construction of the airport is said to be Rs. 605 crore and can be called as an engineering marvel due to the techniques used in building it. Techniques like soil reinforcement and slope stabilization were used keeping in mind the altitude at which it was being built at, the officer said.

Pakyong will become India’s 100^th operational airport and is located at about 60 km from the India-China border.

The length of the Pakyong airport’s runway is a total of 1.75 km.

The airport in Sikkim was constructed by the Airports Authority of India and as of now, the nearest airport from Sikkim state is located somewhat 124 km away in Bagdogra of West Bengal.

The airport is expected to become a boosting factor for tourism in the state as it is located in the Himalayan region. In 2017 alone, about 14.25 lakh tourists visited the state and this number is expected to rise.

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