New Delhi [India], May 22 (ANI): The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has floated the tender for the much-awaited Jorhat-Majuli Bridge over the river Brahmaputra on Thursday.

The 6.81 km long two-lane bridge is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 600.51 crore.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has all along been persuading the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to expedite the tender process in right earnest. The Chief Minister thanked Union Minister Gadkari for turning the dream project into a reality.

Later, taking to X, the Chief Minister wrote, 'Great news for Assam. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has today floated the tender for the much-awaited Jorhat-Majuli Bridge--a 6.81 km, 2-lane bridge with an estimated cost of Rs. 600.51 crore. My heartfelt gratitude to Hon'ble Union Minister @nitin_gadkari Ji for making this effort into a reality.'

The foundation stone for this bridge was laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 18, 2021. This bridge will provide easy and all time access to the people living in Majuli, a district-sized island and the world's largest river island.

In 2016, Majuli became the first island to be made a district in India.

The construction work for the bridge had to be stalled in late 2024 after the contractor withdrew from the project. A new tender has been floated today.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Sarma met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here in the national capital.

'We had a good discussion on Assam's growth trajectory, how it has emerged among the country's fastest growing States and on our plans to build a Rs 10 lakh crore GSDP by 2027-2028,' the CM wrote after meeting the finance minister.

The Assam chief minister also met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. They discussed timelines to operationalise the new IIM campus in Guwahati.

'Guwahati will soon be one of the few cities in India that is home to IIT, AIIMS and now IIM,' the chief minister wrote on X. (ANI)