Bhubaneswar: The tourism sector in Odisha has a bright prospect as the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has come up with an ambitious plan to set up a water aerodrome in the Chilika lake – the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia.
Although the proposed aerodrome will not have the entire amenities available at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in the capital city, it will fulfill the basic provide all necessary requirements to the passengers.
According to BPIA director Suresh Chandra Hota, a two-day preliminary feasibility survey was carried out in the lake by a special team led by the AAI general manager (Architect) Sangita Mahay and senior officials of the AAI, SpiceJet, Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre, Chilika Development Authority (CDA) and the state Water Resources Department June 15 and 16 to decide on the location of the proposed aerodrome.
The team had surveyed the lake at Satapada in Puri district and at Balugaon in Ganjam district. During the survey, the team took stock of the mode of the landing of the seaplanes or amphibious aircraft, the direction where the proposed aerodrome would be set up as well as the location of the aerodrome so that maximum number of people can benefit.
A senior AAI official said the team found that Satapada was not a suitable location to set up the aerodrome as the lake is shallow there. Besides, there are a number of prawn gherries in the vicinity. On the other hand, Balugan was found to be a suitable site for the project as the lake is deeper there and has fewer moss.
According to sources, the aerodrome will have 500-feet runway and the estimated cost for the entire project will be around Rs 10 crore. In addition, they informed that the flight services at the proposed aerodrome will be under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme.
It is worth mentioning here that the Centre plans to set up 16 water aerodromes across the country. SpiceJet too has unveiled plans to purchase over 100 amphibian planes to boost its regional operations.