Amid Border Row With China, BRO To Build World's Highest Airfield For Fighter Jets In Ladakh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the airfield on September 12 via a virtual event.

The Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground has been used for the transportation of the army personnel and military equipment.

Source : ANI

New Delhi: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is set to construct world's highest military airfield at the strategic Nyoma belt of eastern Ladakh, news agency PTI reported. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the airfield, which is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 218 crore, through video conferencing on September 12.

“The defence minister will carry out e-shilanyash of the Nyoma airfield in Ladakh on September 12,” a defence PRO said, as reported by PTI.

According to the BRO official, the airfield will be help boost the air infrastructure and will be used for a wide-ranging strategic air assets.

“The construction of this airfield will tremendously boost the air infrastructure in Ladakh and augment the IAF's (Indian Air Force) capability along our northern borders,” PTI quoted the BRO official as saying.

According to the report, apart from laying the foundation stone for this airfield, the defence minister will also inaugurate and dedicate to the nation 90 infrastructure projects constructed by the Border Roads Organisation at a cost of Rs 2,941 crore.

Rajnath Singh will also inaugurate the reconstructed Bagdogra and Barrackpore airfields in West Bengal on September 12, the PRO said, adding, the airfields have been revamped by the BRO at a cost of Rs 529 crore.

“These airfields will not only improve the defensive and offensive architecture of the Indian Air Force along the northern borders but also facilitate commercial flight operations in the region,” the BRO official told PTI.

It is to be noted that the Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground has been used for the transportation of the army personnel and military equipment amid the stand-off with China since 2020, and witnessed operations of Chinook heavy-lift helicopters and the C-130J special operations aircraft, PTI reported.

Located at a height of 13,400 feet, Nyoma is around 46 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.