Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Rs 25,000-crore Guwahati-Barapani-Panchgram Expressway project during his visit to Barak Valley on March 14, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Friday.
Speaking to reporters at Hilara in Cachar district, Sarma said the PM will also inaugurate the long-awaited Silchar flyover project on the same day.
The 166. 8-km greenfield, four-lane access-controlled expressway, part of NH-06, will be implemented by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Sarma said tenders have already been floated, wildlife board clearance secured, and land acquisition is progressing. Designed to cut travel time between Guwahati and Silchar to about 4. 5 to 5 hours, the expressway will traverse Ri-Bhoi, East Khasi Hills, and West Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya before entering Cachar in Assam. With extensive tunnelling work planned, the project is targeted for completion by 2030.
The CM said the expressway would significantly strengthen connectivity between Assam and Meghalaya, boosting trade, tourism, and economic activity in Barak Valley and the wider northeast.
Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the much-anticipated Silchar flyover, a 2.5-km stretch from Capital Point to Rangirkhari, at an estimated cost of Rs 700 crore. The tender for the project is expected to be floated in October this year.
On the proposed Greenfield Airport at Doloo near Silchar, Sarma said environmental clearance was received on Thursday and the proposal will now be sent to the Union cabinet for approval. He added that if the foundation stone cannot be laid in March, it will be done in April after the assembly elections. The airport, to be developed by the Airports Authority of India, will replace the defence-controlled Silchar Airport at Kumbhirgram and is slated for completion by Sept 2029.
With multiple large-scale infrastructure projects lined up, Modi’s visit is expected to give a major push to connectivity and development initiatives in Barak Valley ahead of the Assam assembly polls.
