Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Amar Patnaik has urged the Union Government to issue 4C license to Rourkela airport.
Dr Patnaik has recently written a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia elaborating the need of 4C license for the airport located in the Steel City of Odisha.
He said Rourkela is the 3rd largest city of Odisha and is known as the ‘Industrial Capital’ of the State. It has a huge iron and steel manufacturing base and also home to important educational institutions such as the National Institute of Technology (NIT) and Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT).
“Odisha is hosting the Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup in 2023 for which the foundation stone of the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium has been laid at Rourkela. In this regard, the timely expansion and upgradation of the Rourkela Airport is extremely crucial,” said the MP.
A few years ago, the Rourkela airport had been issued the ARC 2B licence for 19-seater aircrafts under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN). The scheme, however, hasn’t materialised on the ground but steps for expansion of the airport have been undertaken, he mentioned.
For its expansion, Dr Patnaik said, the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has accorded land of SAIL and RSP to the Airport Authority of India (AAI). Thus, over 146 acres of land for airport and runway expansion has been made available that can also cater towards the smooth operation of wide-body aircraft like Airbus and Boeing.
Therefore, it is commercially viable for the Ministry of Civil Aviation to issue a 4C license to Rourkela Airport, he told Mr.Scindia.
Stating that the present official expansion of the runway of Rourkela Airport is being limited to cater to 70 seater aircraft like ATR-72 which needs a 3C License, the Lawmaker said the actual extension of runaway will be to around 6330 feet, whereas, it can be expanded to over 7,500 feet.
Amongst all these reports have also surfaced those 1,349 feet of the existing serviceable runway is being discarded for reasons not known.
Therefore, for the development of Rourkela Smart City, he requested the Minister of Civil Aviation to ensure timely expansion and upgradation of the Rourkela Airport.
“It is extremely worrisome that despite the availability of land, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has displayed tardiness,” he said.
Stating strategy for extension of the runaway must be duly planned and implemented, the MP urged the Union Minister to set up a Committee to investigate the matter of discard of 1,349 feet of highway.
Dr Patnaik expressed confidence that augmentation of necessary infrastructure at the airport can be completed at the Rourkela airport before the Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup in 2023.
“Therefore, to provide a necessary boost to the economy and improve inter-connectivity the Ministry of Civil Aviation must issue a 4C license to Rourkela airport,” the leading Parliamentarian ended his letter with this demand.
