Agartala: The central government would launch a dedicated regional airline for the northeastern region by January next year, Union Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Mani Shankar Aiyar said here Tuesday.

"The dedicated regional airline would improve connectivity in the far flung areas of the northeastern region and is for easy communication between the region and the rest of the country," Aiyar told reporters.

He said, "The proposed airline would be a joint venture project with a private organisation and the process is on to select the private operator."

About 90 per cent of the funds required for the new airline would be paid by the central government and 10 per cent would be paid by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other concerned agencies.

"The Centre is keen in improving air connectivity in the northeast by upgrading 18 airports. It also includes plans for greenfield airports in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh," the minister said.

Source : IANS