SRINAGAR: In a bid to match China’s infrastructure developments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to commence the construction of aTn Indian Air Force base in Nyoma, eastern Ladakh, on September 12th, The Tribune reported.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), operating under the Ministry of Defence, will oversee the Rs 214 crore project, which is expected to be completed within a two-year timeframe.
Located at an altitude of 13,700 feet along the Indus River, Nyoma is approximately 180 kilometers southeast of Leh. This naturally flat terrain has been utilised by helicopters and specialised aircraft such as the C-130J, which can land on its mud-paved runway. The objective is to establish a fighter jet base capable of launching and recovering aircraft while also conducting minor maintenance tasks.
The designated site spans 1,235 acres and will feature a 2.7-kilometer runway, complemented by associated military infrastructure. On the same day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, as per The Tribune will officially inaugurate the Nechiphu Tunnel, situated on the strategically crucial 329-kilometer Tezpur-Tenga-Bomdila-Tawang route leading to the LAC in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Nechiphu Tunnel, situated at an elevation of 5,700 feet, is designed to circumvent the persistently foggy conditions around Nechipu Pass, which had long impeded the smooth flow of both civilian traffic and military convoys. This tunnel forms an integral part of the plan to swiftly deploy troops and weaponry along the LAC.
Additionally, two more tunnels under the 13,700-foot-high Himalayan massif of Sela are under construction along the same 329-kilometer route to the LAC.
The Nyoma airbase and the Arunachal tunnel constitute two of the 90 infrastructure projects spearheaded by the BRO that will be officially dedicated to the nation on September 12th. The ceremony will be held at Devak Bridge in Jammu, where Rajnath Singh will inaugurate a 422-meter bridge on the Bishnah-Kolpur-Phulpur road in Jammu and Kashmir, according to an official statement.
Furthermore, Rajnath Singh will oversee the inauguration of the reconstructed and upgraded airfields at Bagdogra and Barrackpore in West Bengal. Bagdogra, located in northern Bengal, is the nearest base to the Doklam plateau, situated at the tri-junction of India, Bhutan, and China. Tensions flared between India and China in 2017 over boundary disputes in this region. The reconstruction of these airfields has incurred a cost of Rs 529 crore. The Minister will also inaugurate 22 roads and 63 bridges, with 11 in Jammu and Kashmir, 26 in Ladakh, 36 in Arunachal Pradesh, five in Mizoram, three in Himachal Pradesh, two each in Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, and one each in Nagaland, Rajasthan, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
