Bhubaneswar: Commercial flights are expected to take off from Jeypore airport soon, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra informed on Wednesday.
Briefing the mediapersons here soon after his arrival from Koraput and Nabarangpur district, he said the expansion of the runway has almost been complete while work on other infrastructure to make the airport operational is going on in full swing.
It may be recalled here that the then Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on February 9 this year had told the Rajya Sabha that the Centre had included 19 unserved and underserved airstrips and airports of Odisha under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme documents.
These airstrips are located at Rourkela, Amarda Road (Mayurbhanj), Angul, Barbil (Keonjhar), Birasal (Dhenkanal), Gudari (Rayagada), Hirakud (Sambalpur), Jayakpur (Rayagada), Jeypore (Koraput), Lanjigarh (Kalahandi), Nuapada, Padampur (Bargarh), Rairangpur (Mayurbhanj), Raisuan (Keonjhar), Rangeilunda (Berhampur in Ganjam district), Sukinda (Jajpur), Therubali (Rayagada), Tusra (Balangir) and Utkela (Kalahandi).
The Union minister had also said that the four airports at Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Jeypore and Utkela are being upgraded and developed on the basis of the routes awarded under the scheme.
On January 26 this year, Civil Aviation Joint Secretary Usha Padhee had said that the Jeypore airport can operate small aircraft and there will be bidding for it
After Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda, the Jeypore airstrip will be the third to get the civil aviation airport tag in the state.
