Guwahati: The Kumar Bhaskar Varma Bridge, built at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore over the Brahmaputra River, will improve regional connectivity and urban mobility in Assam, officials said.
The 1.24-kilometer-long bridge, connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati, is built across one of India’s most challenging riverine terrains. Preparations are underway for the inauguration of the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Bridge, connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. This six-lane bridge, the first of its kind in Northeast India, will reduce travel time between the two banks to seven minutes. It features earthquake-resistant base isolation technology, high-performance stay cables, and a bridge health monitoring system for real-time safety monitoring.
PM Modi will land at the Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) at Moran Bypass in Dibrugarh at 10:30 am, where he will witness an aerial display by fighter aircraft, transport aircraft, and helicopters. The ELF, the first of its kind in the Northeast, supports fighter aircraft weighing up to 40 tons and transport aircraft weighing up to 74 tons and will strengthen emergency response during natural disasters.
At around 1 pm, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the bridge and at 1:30 pm, flag off projects worth over ₹5,450 crore at Lachit Ghat in Guwahati. These include the National Data Centre for the North Eastern Region in Amingaon, IIM Guwahati, and 100 electric buses under the PM-eBus service scheme.
Rohit Singla, Director of SPS Construction India, the project implementing agency, said, “This represents a significant engineering achievement and a major contributor to Assam’s sustainable transportation network.”
He said the bridge is expected to reduce travel time, ease congestion, and facilitate smooth movement of freight and long-distance passengers.
Singla said on Friday, “Our role as the implementing agency was to translate that vision into a durable, safe, and functional structure. We are grateful to the authorities for their guidance and cooperation throughout the project. We believe this bridge will serve the region’s transportation needs for many years to come.”
He said that unlike traditional suspension bridges, this modern “extradosed design” provides optimal strength and durability, paving the way for faster construction across the wide Brahmaputra River.
This 6-lane structure is the first “extradosed” bridge in Northeast India. “Extradosed” bridges combine the key features of both conventional bridges and suspension bridges.
