Bridge connecting Assam, Arunachal to come up in a year

The 9.1 kilometre long Dhola-Sadia bridge linking Assam with Arunachal Pradesh will be completed in a year at an investment of Rs 876 crore, a top ministry official said.
"The work on the Dhola-Sadia bridge in Assam will be completed within a year," Road Secretary Vijay Chibber told PTI.
During this winter season (starting November) we should be able to finish the work, he added.
The bridge is slated to be completed by December 2015 but a delay of few months will not have an impact on the cost.
"It is annuity based project so there is no cost escalation plus hopefully there will be no delay," he added.

An annuity is any continuing payment with a fixed total annual amount.

The bridge, touted to be country's largest, will come up at a cost of Rs 876 crore of which Rs 592 crore financial support has been given by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The bridge will connect the villages of Beshoni Mukh, Laopani, Sesenigaon, Balijan Chapari, Padumphula gaon, Lakhimpuria gaon, Mugalpur, Islampur, Lakhimpuria, Chapakhuwa, Ghogdri, Santipur, Kukurmara, in Assam.
"This project will not only save about 4 hours of travel time between Assam and Arunachal (Pradesh) but will also promote socio-economic activity around the area," Akash Borah, Deputy Manager Navayuga Dhola Infra Projects said.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, last week announced that the central government will award road projects worth Rs 15,000 crore in the region by December.
Of the total Rs 15,000 crore road projects envisaged for the North-East, Rs 6,000 crore worth highways will be developed in Arunachal Pradesh, Rs 2,000 crore projects each in Nagaland and Meghalaya and the remaining ones in other parts of the region.
The Centre has also asked the north-eastern states -- Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh -- to acquire land and obtain the necessary regulatory clearances after which the Road Ministry and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will build those roads.