Itanagar, Jan 11 (IANS): The Finance Ministry on Friday cleared the proposal for construction of the greenfield airport at Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh, an official said.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Steering Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation had also cleared the proposal for the greenfield airport on December 28.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the greenfield airport, estimated at a cost of Rs 1,055 crore, will be a state-of-the-art infrastructure which will propel economic development besides improving connectivity for the local population.

He said tourism will also see a huge boost with this project.

After a detailed discussion, the Public Investment Board of the Finance Ministry approved the land acquisition rate as proposed by the committee and endorsed by the state government.

However, the board noted that it would be the responsibility of the state to hand over the land free of all encumbrances to the Airport Authority of India and set a target to have the airport ready within four years.

"It is matter of great joy for Team Arunachal that today, a decades-old dream of having our own airport has been realised. I thank Prime Minister Modi and the Central government for their unstinted support in having this project see the light of day," said the Chief Minister.