An airport for small aircraft will be constructed in southern Chin State’s Matupi Township, according to municipal minister U Soe Htet.
The airport will be located in the town of Lailinpee, and will be built by the UK-based Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), a Christian organization which states in its mission that it uses aviation technology to provide aid to isolated communities. It will have a runway 3,000 feet long, and 150 feet wide, making it suitable for airplanes holding 15 passengers or less to take off and land.
U Soe Htet said that the surveying for the project is nearly complete.
“The Chin State Chief Minister and other ministers put the first bricks in the foundation in a ceremony on May 4,” he told Khonumthung News.
The construction of the airport will cost around US$2 million, which will be paid by MAF.
“We didn’t expect to build a small airport in the small town in Lailinpee in Chin State,” U Soe Htet said. “We thank [MAF] for building this small airport with foreign assistance. Chin State needs airports. They are going to build other airports after this one. It will be good support for the development of transportation in Chin State,” he explained, adding that it will be helpful in emergency situations.
MAF will repair the old airport grounds in Matupi after construction of the new small aircraft airport is complete, the minister said. The Chin State government is currently surveying Hakha, Thantlang, Tedim and Paletwa townships to host other similar airports. An airport with a 6,000-foot runway is being built in Falam Township and is reportedly 60 percent completed.