Bhubaneshwar: Biju Patnaik International Airport at Bhubaneshwar that is being run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), has seen a tremendous rate of growth in 2017-18. In this year Bhubaneshwar airport, which is one of India's fastest-growing airports, handled 3.16 million domestic passengers at a growth rate of 37.1 per cent and 0.091 million international fliers at a growth rate of 218.4 percent.
The growth in overall flight operations demanded an expansion in the infrastructure at the airport for a long time. In order to meet the growing demand a new link Building, Parallel Taxi Track & Additional Parking Bays are to be constructed for which foundation stone has been laid by Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram, and Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum on 23rd February 2019.
"To cater to the tremendous growth in Indian Aviation Market, around Rs. 1 Lakh crores of investments are expected to be made in the Civil Aviation Sector over next five years. Out of which, AAI will invest around 30,000 Crores for infrastructure creation"
Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI, and S.P. Yadav, RED, ER, AAI were also present at the ceremony along with other senior AAI officials.
In order to cater to the growing traffic at Bhubaneswar Airport, AAI has planned capacity enhancement both on Air side and for the Terminal Building. Capacity enhancement on Airside includes construction of Parallel Taxi track and 08 additional Parking Bays at the cost of Rs. 147.08 crore. It is important to note here that the construction of Parallel Taxi track will improve the aircraft handling capacity from the present 12 movements per hour to 25 movements per hour. The work shall be executed in phases, presently the Phase-I work of 1328 meters' length has been awarded.
Minister for civil aviation Suresh Prabhu addressed the gathering through a recorded video message which said "Odisha is an important state of our country. Bhubaneswar is soon going to be a smart city; the new aviation infrastructure development being undertaken by AAI will ensure better facilities for air passengers". While Dr. Mohapatra said, "To cater to the tremendous growth in Indian Aviation Market, around Rs. 1 Lakh crores of investments are expected to be made in the Civil Aviation Sector over next five years. Out of which, AAI will invest around 30,000 Crores for infrastructure creation".
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)