Odisha to expand airstrip at Rangeilunda

Berhampur: Odisha government has decided to expand the airstrip at Rangeilunda at an estimated cost of Rs 44 crore to facilitate landing of 40 to 70 seater turboprop aircraft.

The existing airstrip with a 900-metre runway is on 40 acre of land. Another 40 acres of land, including 30 acre of private land is required to upgrade it to 1,874-metre runway, officials said today.

A high-level official team led by special secretary in the general administration department, A K Meena visited the airstrip on Friday.

"The works department has prepared a detail project report (DPR) at Rs 44 crore, including Rs 14 crore for land acquisition. The project report was submitted to the government," said Executive Engineer, Works department, Berhampur, P K Das.

"We have asked the Ganjam district administration to start the land acquisition process soon," said Meena.

The state government will provide funds for land acquisition to the district administration. A culvert will be built on the nearby canal and the Berhampur-Gopalpur road diverted slightly.

Some private operators will be encouraged to run small planes from Rangeilunda to Bhubaneswar, Jeypore and other towns, sources said. At the same time he said the government would move the Centre to upgrade the airstrip to a mini-airport once the land acquisition is over.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju during his recent visit to Berhampur had said that his ministry would take steps for the development of Rangeilunda airstrip into an airport, if the state government presents a proposal in this regard.