Rourkela tagged under UDAN scheme

Three steel cities of the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) Rourkela, Bokaro and Burnpur in the States of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, respectively, would soon prominently feature in the country’s aviation map.

The SAIL and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed an MoU on Tuesday for utilisation of the SAIL’s Rourkela, Bokaro and Burnpur airstrips under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN, a flagship project of the Government of India.

The RCS-UDAN scheme, launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, envisages enhancing the regional air connectivity by providing support in terms of infrastructure and other facilities. The SAIL, which has actively engaged in many national development schemes and projects like Make in India and Swachh Bharat, has once again taken a lead and partnered in the UDAN scheme. Under the MoU, the AAI as an implementation agency under RCS-UDAN would execute the required works before commencement of RCS flights at all these three airports. Eventually, the AAI would operate and manage airport operations for Burnpur, Rourkela and Bokaro on behalf of the SAIL for three years.

Start of operations at the Rourkela, Bokaro and Burnpur airports would immensely benefit the citizens of these cities through better connectivity and also speed up the developmental activities in the region.