Guwahati, May 23: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has floated a fresh tender for the construction of the Jorhat-Majuli Bridge over the Brahmaputra River, reviving a key infrastructure project aimed at improving connectivity between Majuli and mainland Assam.

The proposed 6.81-km-long two-lane bridge will be built at an estimated cost of ₹600.51 crore. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18, 2021. Construction had been stalled in late 2024 after the withdrawal of the initial contractor, prompting the Centre to reissue the tender.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has consistently pursued the project, thanked Union Minister Nitin Gadkari for taking the initiative forward. Sharing the update on X, Sarma wrote, “Great news for Assam… My heartfelt gratitude to Union Minister @nitin_gadkari Ji for making this effort into a reality.”

The bridge is expected to provide all-weather connectivity to Majuli, which became India’s first island district in 2016 and is recognised as the world’s largest river island.

In New Delhi, the Chief Minister also met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss Assam’s economic targets, including a projected ₹10 lakh crore Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) by 2027–28. He later met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to discuss the timeline for operationalising the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) campus in Guwahati.

“Guwahati will soon be one of the few cities in India with IIT, AIIMS and IIM,” Sarma stated.