2023 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup: Will Rourkela Be Ready In Time?

Rourkela: The Steel City, along with Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar, will co-host the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup. A world-class facility, the 20,000-capacity Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, is under construction on the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) campus here to host the matches.

The city airport is also undergoing expansion and makeover in preparation for the event. But time is running out and a lot of work is still left. A landfill near the stadium has to be cleared and airport work expedited.

Hockey stadium

The stadium is under construction on BPUT campus at Chhend Colony. But less than 100 metres away is a landfill. With just 11 months left, it will be a race against time to reclaim the garbage dump.

The Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) invited request for proposal (RPF) for bio-mining of waste from the landfill on January 5 with the submission date extended till February 11, according to reports.

The landfill site holds 68,000 to 1 lakh tonne of waste and is spread over around 10 acres.

Rourkela airport

Work on a new apron and taxiway is moving at a snail’s pace. A Ranchi-based firm, RK Mishra and Co, was awarded the work last June. Besides, work on a proposed terminal building to accommodate 200 passengers is yet to begin.

Moreover, the 5,655-feet-long runway, which will be extended to 6,330 feet, won’t be long enough to accommodate wide-bodied Boeing and Airbus jets. According to reports, the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has provided 146 acres which can be used to expand the runway to over 7,500 feet to operate Airbus A320s and Boeing-737s.