Airport Authority of India to introduce new international airport in Odisha
Considering the rising air traffic in the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has proposed a new greenfield international airport in the state of Odisha. Because of certain limitations in the expansion of the Biju Patnaik International Airport, building a new airport is considerable to handle the potential surge in air traffic in the future.
Therefore, the AAI has asked the state government to identify suitable land for the development of the new airport. The approximate land requirement for the new project is around 1,500-2,000 acres. The preferred location is in the vicinity of Bhubaneswar. The proposed airport to be established within 20-30 km of Bhubaneswar and could be set up on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
“After the state government identifies the land, we will do the technical feasibility study”, said an AAI official. The present airport has no scope for expanding the existing runway, stretching up to 2,742 meters. Wide-bodied planes are unable to land at the city airport. The new airport would be equipped to handle jumbo jets like Boeing 777 and Boeing 747,” said the official.
Acting on the proposal of the AAI, the state government has urged its land acquisition agency Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) to intimate the availability of land. Meanwhile, the Odisha government has stepped up its efforts to locate a suitable site for the proposed project.
To attract foreign fliers, the state government had already reduced value-added tax (VAT) charge on aviation turbine fuel to zero for direct international flights from the state. However, despite the sop, the international airport has failed to attract operators, except Air Asia.
AirAsia, the low-cost airline has recently added Bhubaneswar to its list of destinations in India with four weekly direct flights from Kuala Lumpur.
You might also like
Embassy of Iceland hosts film tourism conference in Chennai & Hyderabad
With an aim to increase tourist footfalls from India, Embassy of Iceland organized and hosted a film tourism conference for the Tamil & Telugu film industries. The event was held
Taiwan: An island of alluring landscapes
A fascinating island, Taiwan is gifted with exotic landscapes among many things which in- clude rich culture, historical her- itage and varied cuisines. Taiwan is increasingly becoming popular among international
Clarks Inn appoints Suneel Rawat as GM, Business Development
Clarks Inn Group of Hotels has recently appointed Suneel Rawat as General Manager – Business Development. A seasoned hotelier, Rawat will be responsible for the portfolio development and will form
