Bhubaneswar: With the international terminal of Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) offering no more than basic facilities and it requiring more land for further expansion, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has urged the government to identify place for a new international airport in the state.
According to sources, AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra had discussed this matter with Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi during his visit to the state. The AAI has requested the government to provide about 2,000 acres for the new project. With the state already getting a positive response for international operations, the AAI has decided to take up more commercial projects and runway expansion at BPIA. Although many projects like runway expansion and airport terminal merger projects are in the pipeline, an AAI official said the existing airport is not suitable for further expansion.
Significantly, the government has also responded to the request of AAI and additional secretary PK Biswal has written a letter to Chairman, Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) in this regard.
“AAI has proposed construction of a new international airport since the existing airport in Bhubaneswar is not suitable for further expansion as per their requirement. The approximate land required for new airport will be about 1,500-2,000 acres and preferably not far away from Bhubaneswar,” says Biswal’s letter addressed to Idco chairman.
According to officials, BPIA recorded 27 per cent increase in passenger traffic in 2015-16. Therefore, neither the state government nor the AAI would go for a project that would affect the growth prospects of the existing airport. Significantly, an unofficial survey by aviation experts also listed BPIA among the list of top 20 busiest airports. The BPIA secured 14th position in the list and the AAI had also indicated its plan for equipping the existing airport with more facilities. Therefore, both the government and AAI prefer a land not far from BPIA.
“We are expecting more traffic and growth from Orissa. Even the completion of Jharsuguda airport will boost regional connectivity by linking Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. Jharsuguda can handle aircraft like Airbus A-320. This apart, we had indicated a further investment at BPIA of more than `200 crore over the next three years. So, the new airport will not affect the investment prospects at BPIA,” said a top official of AAI.
The government is also not taking any chance and is planning to bring this project in Khurda so that BPIA would not face a setback in terms of investment. The letter of additional secretary clearly mentioned that the government prefers a land near Khurda.
“If the new airport is very far from the existing airport it would affect the investment prospects at BPIA. This apart, it will also create inconvenience to passengers. Therefore, we prefer the land to be closer to existing airport,” said a top government official.
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