Guwahati may soon become the first city in India to be connected internationally under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN. The gateway to the Northeast will soon be connected with Dhaka and Bangkok under the government’s affordable air connectivity scheme. Under the scheme, the Assam government will offer a subsidy of Rs 2370 and Rs 4400 for a certain number of seats on the flights operating on the Guwahati-Dhaka and Guwahati-Bangkok routes, respectively.
“We got the bids for two airports: Bangkok and Dhaka. For the remaining four, we got invalid bids. The file is already with the (aviation) minister, the day minister signs it, we will announce it,” a senior government official said.
“For the last one year, they (Assam government) have been pursuing the ministry and have committed the funds. They are keen on bidding for six destinations,” a civil aviation official said.
Assam had proposed subsidised international connectivity under UDAN scheme from Guwahati to six destinations – Singapore, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Yangon in Myanmar, Kathmandu in Nepal, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Bangkok in Thailand.
Under international version of the UDAN scheme, the subsidy will come from the states and not the central government. Moreover, in contrast to the domestic UDAN scheme, no airline company will be given any exclusivity over any route under international UDAN scheme.
