Rourkela: The state government has appointed Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) as the consultant for three airports in the state.
The confirmation has been officially sent to RITES November 15 and it has been engaged as the consultant for developing Rourkela, Jeypore and Amarda Road airports.
The upgradation will be to 3C for scheduled flight operations. RITES has been asked to submit a detailed project report (DPR) by accepting the proposal presented by the agency.
RITES has quoted `1 crore and 10 lakh for each airport plus GST. Besides, the agency has been asked to submit the draft of the MoU for the development of the airports to the 3C category. RITES sources said the DPR will be submitted soon.
At present, Rourkela Airport is running with ATR 72. It is registering 90 per cent occupancy. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is trying for visual flight rule (VFR 5000mtr visibility) for Rourkela Airport. But, it is unfortunate that flights are unable to land here due to lack of ILS on more than 30 per cent days in a month. Besides, the flight to Kolkata is not getting regularised due to the ILS factor.
PNN