Jeypore: The launch of flight service from Jeypore airstrip in Koraput district is likely to begin from October end as the infrastructure development work is in its final stage, according to sources in the road and building (R&B) department.
Bijay Kumar Behera, assistant engineer of R&B department, said the civil construction work including the laying of runway, compound wall, air traffic control tower and terminal is in the final stage.
Behera said he expects the airport should become operational by the end of October this year as only painting work is left to be executed.
The airstrip was placed under the UDAN scheme launched by Union civil aviation ministry to establish connectivity between small towns of the country.
A team led by DGM Shyamal Kumar Banerjee of DGCA visited the airstrip and held discussions with superintending engineer Nabin Chandra Dora, executive engineer Prasanna Kumar Panigrahi, SDO Binod Bihar Das and assistant engineer Bijay Kumar Behera so that the pace of construction can be accelerated.
According to reports, the state government launched air service from Jeypore to Bhubaneswar in 2015 but it didn’t succeed. Later, Union civil aviation ministry put the airstrip under the UDAN scheme.
Earlier, the Centre had set a target to start the service from September last year but the deadline had to be extended to March of this year. But that deadline also couldn’t be met.
However, expectation of the locals is high with the inauguration of the Veer Surendra Sai airport in Jharsuguda by the Prime Minister September 22.
The state government had pumped in Rs 6 crore to increase the length and width of the existing runway at Jeypore airstrip.
The airstrip was laid across 60 acres of land in 1962 but on the request of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik an AAI team visited the site January, 15, 2013 and agreed to upgrade the facilities.
PNN