Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Northeast’s first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) by landing in an Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft on a specially prepared stretch of national highway at Moran in Assam’s Dibrugarh district.
After arriving at the Chabua airfield, the Prime Minister boarded the aircraft for the historic landing on the 4.2-km reinforced Moran Bypass stretch. He also witnessed a 30-minute aerial display by 16 Indian Air Force aircraft, including fighter jets such as Dassault Rafale and Sukhoi Su-30MKI, along with transport planes and helicopters.
Built at a cost of ₹100 crore, the Emergency Landing Facility has been developed in coordination with the Indian Air Force to enable emergency landings and take-offs of both military and civilian aircraft. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the facility will play a crucial role in disaster response and strategic operations in the Northeast.
Envisioned as dual-use infrastructure, the ELF can handle fighter aircraft weighing up to 40 tonnes and transport aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of up to 74 tonnes.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh were also present at the event.
Following the inauguration, the Prime Minister departed for Guwahati, where he is scheduled to launch and lay foundation stones for multiple development projects. He will inaugurate a new ₹3,030-crore bridge over the Brahmaputra River connecting Guwahati with North Guwahati — the first extradosed bridge in the Northeast.
Additionally, he will inaugurate the National Data Centre for the North Eastern Region at Amingaon in Kamrup district and mark the commencement of the first academic session of Indian Institute of Management Guwahati.
The Prime Minister will also flag off 225 electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme — 100 for Guwahati, 50 each for Nagpur and Bhavnagar, and 25 for Chandigarh — before addressing a public gathering at Khanapara in Guwahati.
