Rourkela: In what comes as good news for the residents of Rourkela, the dream of air service to the Steel City, the industrial capital of State, will soon turn into reality as Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gave nod to the aspiring project.
If everything goes smoothly, this will be the third airport in Odisha after Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar and Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Jharsuguda.
As per reports, the DGCA provided regulatory license for operation of flights in Rourkela airport Monday.
Confirming the third airport in the State, Ministry of Civil Aviation Monday night tweeted, “The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued license for third airport of Odhisa on 7/1/19 for Rourkela; also known to be the industrial capital of the state of #Odhisa. It will pave opportunities to connect the steel city with rest of the nation. #SabUdenSabJuden.”
After inception of Rourkela Steel Plant, the Govt. of India built up an Air Strip at Rourkela in 60’s. Until 1991, it was under the control of the government. Later, in 1991, the management and control of this Air strip was transferred to Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Rourkela Steel Plant.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between SAIL and Airport Authority of India (AAI) for operation and management of the airstrip in April last year under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) –‘Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik’ (UDAN).
Reportedly, officials of the Civil Aviation Department had reviewed the preparedness of the airstrip at Rourkela and had declared the airport is ready and marked suitable for UDAN flights.
Notably, five airstrips are to be operational in Odisha under Centre’s UDAN scheme. While Bhubaneswar, Jharsuguda have already become operational, Rourkela (SAIL), Jeypore (Koraput) and Utkela (Kalahandi) are on cards for 2019. These airports are being jointly developed by Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the State Government.
The infrastructures of the three airports are being developed at a total investment of over Rs 100 crore, AAI Member (Planning) AK Pathak had said.
PNN