After years of delay, Sikkim will finally have its own airport. According to The Wire, “the inauguration has been fixed for November 30 and a request to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has been sent to seek availability of Narendra Modi for the function”.
Over 30km from Gangtok in Pakyong, the delayed airport—that was to be completed in 2012—has cost roughly Rs300 crore. Due to opposition from locals, deadlines were pushed for the Northeast’s first greenfield airstrip.
#PakyongAirport–first public airbase in #Sikkim–ready for operation. https://t.co/yPBFMaOfZT pic.twitter.com/3MdIMqqulz
— Eclectic Northeast (@eclectictweets) November 1, 2017
The airport is expected to give a much-needed boost to the tourism sector and help improve connectivity in the state with a non-existent rail network. Up until now, people travelling to and from Sikkim had to trek to Bagdogra in West Bengal to access the nearest airport.
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