Narendra Modi will inaugurate the country’s first highway Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) on February 14 at the Dibrugarh–Moran Highway in Assam, marking a historic and strategically significant milestone for India’s defense infrastructure.
The 4.2-kilometre-long emergency runway has been developed to facilitate aircraft operations during emergencies, military missions, and disaster management, particularly in areas close to the India–China border. The facility has been designed in coordination with the Indian Air Force and is capable of handling fighter aircraft weighing up to 40 tonnes and transport aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 74 tonnes.
During trial runs, multiple fighter jets and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force successfully landed and took off from the highway runway, demonstrating its operational capability. The Prime Minister’s aircraft is scheduled to land directly on the national highway at around 10:30 am, making it the first Emergency Landing Facility of its kind in Northeast India. He will also witness an aerial display featuring fighter jets, transport aircraft, and helicopters.
Visit to Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu
At approximately 1 pm, PM Modi will visit the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu, a six-lane extradosed pre-stressed concrete (PSC) bridge built over the Brahmaputra River at a cost of around ₹3,030 crore. The bridge connects Guwahati with North Guwahati and is the first extradosed bridge in Northeast India.
Designed with base isolation technology using friction pendulum bearings, the bridge addresses the region’s seismic sensitivity. High-performance stay cables ensure durability and structural strength, while a Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS) has been installed for real-time monitoring and early detection of potential damage. The new bridge is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities to just seven minutes.
Major Development Projects in Guwahati
Around 1:30 pm at Lachit Ghat in Guwahati, PM Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for projects worth over ₹5,450 crore. These initiatives aim to strengthen connectivity, enhance digital infrastructure, promote higher education, and improve public transport in the region.
A National Data Centre for the Northeast will also be inaugurated at Amin Gaon in Kamrup district. With an approved capacity of 8.5 MW and an average capacity of 10 kW per rack, the state-of-the-art facility will host mission-critical applications for various government departments and function as a disaster recovery centre for other national data centres, aligning with the Digital India vision.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Indian Institute of Management Guwahati, providing a significant boost to management education in the region.
Additionally, under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, 225 electric buses will be flagged off — including 100 for Guwahati, 50 for Nagpur, 50 for Bhavnagar, and 25 for Chandigarh. The initiative is expected to benefit over 50 lakh citizens across four cities by offering clean, affordable, and reliable public transportation, thereby improving urban mobility and overall quality of life.
PM Modi’s visit is being viewed as a major step toward accelerating infrastructure growth and strategic development in Northeast India.
