EXPANSION ON, ISSUES REMAIN
On May 24, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi had announced an ambitious plan to boost Odisha's urbanisation rate from the current 17% to 40% by 2036 and 60% by 2047. The announcement, made during the 10th governing council meeting of NITI Aayog in New Delhi, detailed the govt's urbanisation plan which includes developing a massive 7,000sqkm metropolitan region – comparable to the size of the Hyderabad Metropolitan region – encompassing Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Jatni, Cuttack, Paradip and Puri.
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When it comes to urbanisation, of all the infrastructural facilities that require attention and expansion, an airport is one of most important structures that plays a key role. And in the aftermath of the plane crash in Ahmedabad airport last week, focus on aviation-related infrastructural facilities has become paramount.
"The existing airport in Bhubaneswar, despite recent upgrades, is approaching saturation, struggling to accommodate growing passenger traffic and bigger aircraft and large cargo operations.
The proposed metropolitan area's economic potential, coupled with increasing tourism and business activities, demands a new and strategically located airport outside Bhubaneswar," former Air India pilot and BJD leader Manmath Routray said.
The state budget in Feb had proposed to establish a greenfield airport in Paradip to accelerate growth in industry and to further expand the aviation map across industrial clusters in coastal areas.
A greenfield airport in Puri has also been planned. The previous BJD govt had planned the Shree Jagannath International Airport in Puri. As per the plan, considering Bhubaneswar's saturation, Puri was planned to become fully an international airport and Bhubaneswar fully domestic.
Recently Majhi also discussed expediting work on the proposed airport in Puri and upgrading the existing one in Rourkela.
Routray added that a new airport would not only decongest the existing facility but also catalyse economic growth across the planned metropolitan region.
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It would enhance connectivity, boost tourism, and support the region's industrial development. "The project aligns with Odisha's vision of becoming an economic powerhouse in eastern India," he said.
The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) operates over 100 flights daily on an average and more than 35,000 flights annually.
In 2013, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had planned a comprehensive expansion plan requiring 64 acres of additional land.
The primary objective was to extend the runway from 9,000ft to 10,500ft, which would have enabled the airport to accommodate bigger aircraft like Boeing 777, 787 and 747, along with special cargo planes.
Despite multiple negotiations spanning several years, the state govt's offer in March 2017 fell short of the requirement. It proposed allocating only 47 acres of land, currently under the control of Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), against the required 64 acres.
This land shortage then prompted AAI to reconsider its expansion strategy. Airport authorities have indicated that the existing runway is sufficient for current commercial operations, leading the AAI to shift its focus towards improving infrastructure and passenger services instead.
"To expand the existing runway from 2274 meters to over 3000 meters, we need land in length and not in width. We can get 47 acres from OUAT but require another 17 acres that need to be acquired by displacing a part of Baramunda village," BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan said.
But even if a new airport comes up, there will be mushrooming of houses and towers and other structures - which may pose a threat to aircraft - around it. "Expanding an airport or constructing a new one will boost growth and that will also lead to growth in other sectors, like real estate for instance. In case of Delhi's IGI airport as well, there are residential areas along Dwarka and Vasant Kunj end. Even the airport in Bengaluru, which is situated around 40 km from the township, now has houses coming up near it," hotelier Debashis Patnaik said.
While the runway expansion plan is facing a dead end for now, BPIA is set to get a third terminal to enhance domestic operations. The proposed terminal (T3), to be constructed over a 30,000 square metre area, may pave the way for segregated handling of arrivals and departures. Currently, BPIA operates with two terminals - T1 for domestic flights and T2 for international operations.
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
EXPANSION ON, ISSUES REMAIN
On May 24, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi had announced an ambitious plan to boost Odisha's urbanisation rate from the current 17% to 40% by 2036 and 60% by 2047. The announcement, made during the 10th governing council meeting of NITI Aayog in New Delhi, detailed the govt's urbanisation plan which includes developing a massive 7,000sqkm metropolitan region – comparable to the size of the Hyderabad Metropolitan region – encompassing Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Jatni, Cuttack, Paradip and Puri. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now When it comes to urbanisation, of all the infrastructural facilities that require attention and expansion, an airport is one of most important structures that plays a key role. And in the aftermath of the plane crash in Ahmedabad airport last week, focus on aviation-related infrastructural facilities has become paramount. "The existing airport in Bhubaneswar, despite recent upgrades, is approaching saturation, struggling to accommodate growing passenger traffic and bigger aircraft and large cargo operations. The proposed metropolitan area's economic potential, coupled with increasing tourism and business activities, demands a new and strategically located airport outside Bhubaneswar," former Air India pilot and BJD leader Manmath Routray said. The state budget in Feb had proposed to establish a greenfield airport in Paradip to accelerate growth in industry and to further expand the aviation map across industrial clusters in coastal areas. A greenfield airport in Puri has also been planned. The previous BJD govt had planned the Shree Jagannath International Airport in Puri. As per the plan, considering Bhubaneswar's saturation, Puri was planned to become fully an international airport and Bhubaneswar fully domestic. Recently Majhi also discussed expediting work on the proposed airport in Puri and upgrading the existing one in Rourkela. Routray added that a new airport would not only decongest the existing facility but also catalyse economic growth across the planned metropolitan region. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It would enhance connectivity, boost tourism, and support the region's industrial development. "The project aligns with Odisha's vision of becoming an economic powerhouse in eastern India," he said. The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) operates over 100 flights daily on an average and more than 35,000 flights annually. In 2013, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had planned a comprehensive expansion plan requiring 64 acres of additional land. The primary objective was to extend the runway from 9,000ft to 10,500ft, which would have enabled the airport to accommodate bigger aircraft like Boeing 777, 787 and 747, along with special cargo planes. Despite multiple negotiations spanning several years, the state govt's offer in March 2017 fell short of the requirement. It proposed allocating only 47 acres of land, currently under the control of Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), against the required 64 acres. This land shortage then prompted AAI to reconsider its expansion strategy. Airport authorities have indicated that the existing runway is sufficient for current commercial operations, leading the AAI to shift its focus towards improving infrastructure and passenger services instead. "To expand the existing runway from 2274 meters to over 3000 meters, we need land in length and not in width. We can get 47 acres from OUAT but require another 17 acres that need to be acquired by displacing a part of Baramunda village," BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan said. But even if a new airport comes up, there will be mushrooming of houses and towers and other structures - which may pose a threat to aircraft - around it. "Expanding an airport or constructing a new one will boost growth and that will also lead to growth in other sectors, like real estate for instance. In case of Delhi's IGI airport as well, there are residential areas along Dwarka and Vasant Kunj end. Even the airport in Bengaluru, which is situated around 40 km from the township, now has houses coming up near it," hotelier Debashis Patnaik said. While the runway expansion plan is facing a dead end for now, BPIA is set to get a third terminal to enhance domestic operations. The proposed terminal (T3), to be constructed over a 30,000 square metre area, may pave the way for segregated handling of arrivals and departures. Currently, BPIA operates with two terminals - T1 for domestic flights and T2 for international operations.
NDTV
4 hours ago
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'Flying On A Dreamliner? I'm On': Ex Aviation Minister Praful Patel After Crash
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At the end of the day, what we really want to know is what went wrong," he said. Air India Safety Mr Patel pointed out that instances of flights being cancelled or having a technical issue happen every day, and are being amplified now because of the crash. "Air India, irrespective of the ownership today or in the past, has always been completely safety driven, protocol driven. They follow every single process which has been prescribed either by the manufacturer or by the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation," he said. "I would like to say that India does follow very good safety protocols. Air India has also had very tragic incidents, accidents in the past and they have been able to learn from them and overcome those kinds of issues. And I am sure even in the current context, Air India will be able to ride out of this crisis," the minister added. 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Suggesting measures to do this, he said, "I feel that there needs to be better communication, both by Air India and by all the airlines of the country put together, even by the DGCA. And I can also sense that this is a time when any vacancies in the DGCA or even in airlines in terms of their engineering or safety departments should be filled up immediately... You see, in aviation parlance, either it's 100% safe or zero, there's nothing like 99.9%." Pointing out that several helicopter crashes have occurred in the Char Dham area in the past few weeks, he said checks and balances should be put in place and "shortcuts" should be avoided. "The operators take chances, the pilots also sometimes are confident or overconfident, they think that they can navigate through the mountains or the clouds and they know their way... And sometimes, I'm not blaming anybody, but there could be shortcuts which need to be avoided. That also shakes up confidence. After all, anything falling off the sky does rattle people. Safety Focus On whether India has too few players in terms of airlines, Mr Patel said the emphasis should be on quality, not quantity. India's track record, he said, has not been worse than advanced countries like the US or countries in Europe. "And we also have very, very good overall safety standards and monitoring. But my last word to people would be, please do not be scared of flying. It's still the safest mode of public transportation, even in India or anywhere in the world. (Once) you sit on a plane, your chances of having something going wrong are really very rare. You are one of the real unlucky ones if you really encounter some major problem," he said. "Otherwise, it is the safest and probably the best-managed public transportation (system) anywhere in the world," the former aviation minister emphasised.
