Bhubaneswar: Odisha Govt will provide 47 acres of land of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT)for expansion of the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) runway here and the Government would provide the same area of land to the university at Sakhigopal and Deras.
A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary AP Padhi. The runway of the airport would be expanded in the Barmunda area, official sources said.
As the international flight operation is scheduled to begin from April 26, the State Government has decided to expand the runway for facilitating more international aviation companies to start flight operations, the officalsaid.
“There has been a plan for runway expansion since 2013. We had asked the Government for 64 acres of land, which belongs to the OUAT. With the consensus among the OUAT, General Administration (GA) Department and the airport authority, we will get land and start the start project soon,” BPIA Director R Mahalingam told reporters.
Currently, the BPIA has a total of 9,000-ft runway, which is enough for landing of bigger flights. Operation of the Air India’s Airbus A-321 is just an example in this regard. As the BPIA focuses on the cargo flight operation in future, around 10,000-ft long runway is required, said the Director.
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