Koraput: The construction of Jeypore airport in Odisha’s Koraput district is expected to be completed in the next three months.
This was revealed during the visit of a team of senior officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) led by the joint secretary of Civil Aviation Ministry, Usha Padhi, to Jeypore on Sunday.
“We had come here for inspection of the airport. We had a detailed discussion with the Koraput collector and SP. They will tell you about the timeline for the airport,” Padhi told mediapersons before leaving the airport.
She said the process of commencement of flights would be worked out once the construction work is completed.
“A team of senior officials of the AAI had come to Jeypore to oversee the ongoing work of the airport. The team discussed procedure for applying for operational licence to allow the airport to manage flights. We hope that all the pending works will be completed within three months,” said Koraput collector K Sudarshan Chakrobarthy.
Congress leader and Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said the team made a thorough inspection of the airport construction, which is in the final stage, and satisfaction over the ongoing work. “What I understand from the discussion with the team, the airport would be ready within 3-4 months and the flight service would begin by August,” he added.
He also praised the efforts of the Centre and the state government to make the Jeypore airport operational.
Construction of the airport, which had begun in 2016, was scheduled to be completed by September 2017. Though the state government had assured the AAI that the work would be completed by December last year, it has got further delayed.
To ascertain the reasons for the delay, the AAI team had come here on Sunday for an inspection.
Sources in the AAI said considering the length and breadth of the airstrip, which is 914 metre and 15-23 metre respectively, it can handle flight of an 18-seater aircraft. However, with subsequent expansion of the airstrip, the flight capacity would be increased to 60.
The AAI has decided to set up a 50-feet mobile air traffic control at the airstrip at the cost of Rs 7 crore, the sources added.
