Apart from improving the connectivity of the landlocked state of Sikkim on the eastern frontier, the airport also holds immense strategic significance as it lies just 40 miles away from Doklam, a tiny plateau sandwiched between India, China and Bhutan, which witnessed a military standoff between India and China last year.

Perched on a crag in the Himalayan mountain range, India's 100th airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. Considered an engineering marvel, erected at the height of 4,500 ft above sea level and rugged terrain, the spectacular natural backdrop gives the Pakyong airport a picture-perfect finish.
"The Indian Air Force (IAF) will also find this airport convenient for the landing and taking off of its aircraft," Junior Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in India's Prime Minister Office said.


An official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that state-of-the-art Geotechnical engineering, including soil reinforcement and slope stabilisation techniques, was used in the construction of the airport.

The airport is expected to lend a major fillip to the economy of Sikkim that was otherwise connected to the mainland with a single lane highway.

The air connectivity is also bound to prove a major boon to the armed forces, which had to otherwise rely on the single-lane highway to transport weapons and tanks to the border with China. Transport of heavy equipment and weapons systems took days at a time. Moreover, the highway remained disrupted through most of the rainy season, with landslides occurring frequently. The unavailability of a nearby airport during last year's military standoff exposed the vulnerabilities of Indian forces.

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