“The proposed bridge will revolutionise the connectivity across the Brahmputra,” said Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday.
He was addressing a gathering after performing bhumi pujan and inaugurating the construction of the six-lane extra-dosed bridge over river Brahmaputra connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati.
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“Without good connectivity, no region can progress and with this bridge, which will be unique in every aspect, will take a giant step towards making Assam one of the top-performing states in the country,” Sonowal asserted.
The extra dosed bridge will be the first of its kind in Northeast with a project cost of Rs 2608 crore.
It will be implemented by Assam Public Works Department with consultancy services from Systra Engenharia Consultoria Ltd, Brazil, contractor services from M/s SP Singla Construction Pvt. Limited and funding agency New Development Bank.
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Twenty per cent of the total project cost, however, will be borne by the Assam government.
The foundation stone of the bridge was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 9, 2019.
The length of the six-lane project will be 8.4 km and it will have an approach road on both sides of the Brahmaputra.
The actual length bridge over the river, however, will be 1.24 km and the project is estimated to be completed within August 13, 2023.
Speaking further Sonowal said, “The new bridge is a step towards Smart Guwahati.”
“This which will facilitate an integrated ICT application for an intelligent traffic system, leading to decongestion of city traffic,” Sonowal said.
“Guwahati is no longer a gateway to Northeast. It is also tipped to be the gateway to South-East Asian Countries,” Sonowal further said.
“In this backdrop, the new extra dosed pre-stressed concrete bridge over the Brahmaputra, apart from delving a facelift to Guwahati, will transform the connectivity of the capital city in particular and the entire state in general,” Sonowal added.
Speaking on the occasion, state PWD minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “The state government has taken up several schemes for the welfare of the people.”
“The government is all set to establish new medical and engineering colleges in Biswanath, Goalpara, Karimganj, Dhemaji, Behali, Bongaigaon, and Sulakuchi,” he said.