TV
What comes as good news for Western Odisha, the state government is all set to come up with four new airstrips in western Odisha, taking the total number of airports in the region to eight. The new airstrips will come up at Jamadarpali (Sambalpur), Satibhata (Bargarh), Gotma (Nuapada) and Tusura (Bolangir), reports said.
This was informed by Transport Minister Bibhuti Jena in the State Assembly while replying to a question from Bolangir MLA Kalikesh Singh Deo.
Current Airports in Western Odisha:
As of now, there are four airports in Western Odisha – Jeypore Airport (Koraput), the Veer Surendra Sai Airport (Jharsuguda), Rourkela Airport (Sundargarh) and an airstrip at Utkela (Kalahandi). All these four airports operate with direct connectivity to Bhubaneswar.
Up-gradation of Airports:
In the Assembly, the Transport Minister revealed that the government is planning to upgrade Jeypore airport from 2B category to 3C. For this, the government requires around 229.4 acre of land.
“Rs 64.4 crore has been allotted for its development. The Tusura airport in Bolangir district will also be upgraded to 2B, for which Rs 65 crore has been sanctioned. The reasons for the delay in taking up these projects are land acquisition and aerodrome licensing,” the Minister stated.
This apart, four more airports that will be made operational at Raisuan and Barbil in Keonjhar district, Gudari in Kandhamal, Dandabos and Amarda in Mayurbhanj district. These airports will cater to the central, north and west-central regions of Odisha.
Greenfield Airport in Paradip:
Meanwhile, the state budget has also made a provision to establish a Greenfield airport at the industrial and port town of Paradip to accelerate growth in industry, export and import and to further expand the aviation map in industrial clusters in coastal areas.
A Greenfield airport is one that is built from scratch.
