Guwahati, February 14 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday inaugurate a range of projects in Assam, including a bridge over the Brahmaputra River and a data center for the northeastern region.
Modi arrived in the state on a day-long visit to inaugurate an emergency landing facility (ELF) at Moran and launch projects worth over Rs 5,500 crore.
The projects aim to improve connectivity, strengthen digital infrastructure, promote higher education, and enhance public transport, officials said.
The PM will inaugurate the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu across the Brahmaputra in Guwahati, which was built at a cost of around Rs 3,030 crore.
The six-lane extradosed prestressed concrete (PSC) bridge will connect Guwahati with North Guwahati and is the first extradosed bridge in the Northeast.
It will reduce travel time between Guwahati and North Guwahati to just seven minutes. Currently, only the Saraighat Bridge in the Jalukbari area connects the two banks of the Brahmaputra in the capital region, with the travel time taking around 30 minutes.
Considering the high seismicity of the region, the bridge incorporates base isolation technology using friction pendulum bearings, according to a statement from the prime minister's office.
High-performance stay cables have been used to ensure durability and long-term structural performance, it added.
"A Bridge Health Monitoring System (BHMS) has also been incorporated for real-time condition monitoring, early damage detection, and improved safety and service life of the extradosed bridge," the PMO said.
Modi laid the foundation stone for the bridge on February 9, 2019, and construction started on March 1, 2020, by then Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
The initial cost of the bridge was Rs 2,608 crore, which increased to Rs 3,030 crore, and the project was estimated to be completed within four years. The length of the bridge is 7.75 km, including approach roads and flyovers on both sides of the Brahmaputra, while the actual bridge over the river is 1.24 km long.
The project was implemented by the Assam Public Works Department with consultancy services from Systra Engenharia Consultoria Ltd of Brazil. The contractor for the bridge was S P Singla Construction Pvt Ltd, and the funding agency was the New Development Bank, with 20 per cent of the total project cost borne by the Assam government.
A senior official of the Assam government told news agency PTI that after its formal opening to the public, the bridge will remain open exclusively for pedestrians until February 28.
The PM will later virtually inaugurate the National Data Center (NDC) for the northeastern region, set up at Amingaon in Kamrup district of Assam, from Lachit Ghat.
The state-of-the-art data center with a total sanctioned load of 8.5 MW and an average rack capacity of 10 kW per rack will host mission-critical applications of various government departments and also function as a disaster recovery center for other NDCs.
"This will enable governments in the Northeast to digitally facilitate the delivery of essential citizen-centric services," the PMO said.
Aligned with the vision of Digital India, the NDC for the Northeast has been envisaged as a strategic intervention to strengthen the region's ICT backbone and ensure robust, secure, and always-available digital infrastructure.
Following this, the PM will inaugurate the temporary campus of the Indian Institute of Management Guwahati, which is expected to give a major boost to higher education and management education in the northeastern region.
"The permanent campus will be developed at Palasbari near Guwahati, while the institute will commence its academic session from a transit campus at Tech City, Bongora. IIM Ahmedabad will oversee the temporary arrangements," the Assam government official said.
The central government had approved the setting up of an IIM in Guwahati last year. This will be the second IIM in the Northeast and the 22nd in the country. The first IIM in the region is in Shillong.
Modi will also flag off 225 electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme from the same location, as stated in the PMO release.
Out of these, 100 buses are for Guwahati, 50 each for Nagpur and Bhavnagar, and 25 for Chandigarh.
"With the launch of e-bus operations under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme in these four cities, more than 50 lakh citizens are expected to benefit through access to clean, affordable, and reliable public transport services, contributing to improved urban mobility and enhanced quality of life," the release added.
