Jorhat, Dec. 11: The strategic Dhola-Sadiya bridge on the Brahmaputra may miss the April deadline for inauguration as land acquisition for construction of approach roads on either side is not yet complete.

"The bridge is complete but we are not being able to carry out construction of approach roads on both sides because of land acquisition issues," an official of the construction company involved in the project told The Telegraph today.

During his visit to the construction site in July this year, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had announced that the bridge would be opened in April.

It already has missed several deadlines for opening, mainly because of the river changing its course and heavy floods.

The bridge, constructed at the eastern most corner of the country, when complete would be the longest bridge in the country and will be crucial for movement of troops to the China border. It will also reduce travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by about four hours.

The official said at least 12 cases of land accusation are pending on the northern side (which is Sadiya) while seven cases were pending on the southern side (which is Dhola).

"It is approximately a 3km stretch where the government has not yet handed over the land to us for the construction of approach roads because of land acquisition issues," he said.

The official said if the land was not handed over immediately, it would be almost impossible to complete construction of the approach roads by April.

"It would be very difficult to work when the rainy season starts," he said.

Official sources said the ministry of road transport and highways has already cleared the estimated Rs 31 lakh for acquisition of the particular patches of land on either sides of the river for construction of the approach roads but it was because of bureaucratic bungling that the work has been delayed.

Bridge connectivity in these parts of the country is important as eastern Arunachal Pradesh does not have operational airports and with China reportedly building airstrips on its side of the line of actual control.

The army has a cantonment at Walong, about 180km from the district headquarters of Tezu in Lohit district. A little ahead, the strategically important town of Kibithu (in Anjaw district) is located, with China to the north and Myanmar on the east. China has a sizeable deployment of troops opposite Kibithu Tatu, Tithang and at Rongtu Chu valley, west of Tithang.

"The bridge when complete will not only facilitatefaster movement of troops but will also help ferry tanks and other heavy weapons to the China border," the official said.

The Rs 938-crore two-lane bridge project began in November 2010. The length of the bridge is 9.15km and is 3.55km longer than the sea link over the Mahim Bay in Mumbai - the longest bridge in the country now.

Construction of this bridge in Assam was approved as part of a Rs 24,000 crore Arunachal Pradesh package to improve road connectivity in the border state.