Assam: FM Nirmala Sitharaman visits Guwahati; takes stock of various developmental projects

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GUWAHATI:

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Guwahati on Friday for a day visit. She was received by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport from where she headed to Dima Hasao to perform a bhoomi pujan to inaugurate the Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited's 120 MW Lower Kopili Hydro Electric Project at Longku.

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony, Sarma said that the power project will increase electricity supply from clean energy by 469 GWH by 2025, and reduce greenhouse gas emission by 360K tons annually. The Project will be completed at a cost of ₹2,200 crore, of which ₹1,700 was sanctioned by the Union Government.

Sitharaman also laid the foundation stone for the upgradation of a 90-km road from Haflong Tinali to Lower Haflong. The project was completed with aid from the Asian Development Bank for the Assam Road Network Improvement Project. It is expected to improve road infrastructure in Dima Hasao’s Haflong, Umrangso and other regions.

Sarma stated that the Assam government will spend another ₹900 crore for road construction in Dima Hasao, and ₹250 crore, in particular, for the construction of the Umrangso–Lanka Road over the next nine months.

Later in the day, the union finance minister also inspected the project site of the six-lane extradosed bridge over the Brahmaputra that will connect Guwahati and North Guwahati.

Sarma informed that once completed, the 8,405-km bridge, constructed at the cost of ₹2,608 crore, will significantly ease traffic congestion and help in expanding the city towards the north bank once completed.

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