Dharmendra Pradhan bats for second airport, MRO unit in Odisha capital

BHUBANESWAR: Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the Union civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu to set up another airport close to Bhubaneswar citing that the existing Biju Patnaik International airport is facing near saturation in terms of future growth.
“The airport was commissioner in the state capital in 1962 and now it faces severe space and runway related constraints. There is an urgent need to set up another airport given the tremendous potential the smart city has. I think the process of identifying a suitable land is on but it should be expedited as making an airport would take a lot of time,” Pradhan writes.

His letters reveals that in 2017-18 fiscal, 3.25 million passengers flew in both domestic and international flights. He terms it fastest growth. “The air traffic and passenger flow have increased in recent times,” the letter said.

The state government had asked the CMD, Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) twice to look for a suitable patch of land for the creation of new international airport. The new airport will require 1,500-2,000 acre land, according to Airports Authority of India (AAI).

In 2015, The AAI informed the state government that the land proposed for the new airport Malipada was unsuitable. Then also, Idco had selected the location. But, the government made another request to AAI, which turned down saying the selected land was not feasible.

Currently, 30 domestic flights and one international of as many as six carriers are running the operations from here. The airport recently proposed expansion of runway and creation of parallel taxiway. But, it is facing difficulties to acquire land.

Recently, Pradhan had requested Prabhu to plan for an airport at industrial town Paradip, which is considered a hub of economic growth. The Paradip Port Trust is keen to provide the required land for the airport. “I have had discussion with AAI chairman and the Paradip Port Trust on development of new airport,” Pradhan has said in the letter.

Pradhan in his letter also has also stressed on setting up Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) unit, Airline Skilling Institutes, Flight Kitchens and Parking Bays adjacent to the existing airport.

In the absence of MRO, the aircrafts have to be flown to Kolkata for year maintenance, which is not cost effective, said a source.