The Odisha Government has proposed to develop greenfield airports in five locations in an effort to boost intra-State and inter-State civil aviation facilities.

The five airports will come up in the industrial hubs of Rayagada, Paradip, Dhamara, Angul and Kalinganagar, a senior official said, adding that proposals were also on the anvil to upgrade existing airfields at Gopalpur, Jharsuguda, Barbil and Rourkela.

The State-owned IPICOL, in association with the Civil Aviation Department, has initiated a roadmap for facilitating investment in aviation-related activities to boost intra and inter-state trade and tourism.

“A roadmap has been prepared for a period of 10 years from 2012-13 to 2022-23. The proposed areas of development range from creation of night parking facility and hinterland connectivity to establishment of aero city and refuelling hub,” the official said.

The state also set a target of creating milestones such as domestic terminal and connectivity, setting up of aviation training institutes, operationalisation of international flight, development of cargo hub and airline base, the sources said.

The State, at present, has 17 airstrips and 16 helipads. The Government has also identified nine locations to be connected through civil aviation facility.

“We are working on operation of flights to establish connectivity to other cities such as Raipur, Patna, Bhopal and Ranchi,” the official said.

He said a high-level meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary, B K Patnaik, was held recently on the matter.

He has also asked IPICOL to explore partnership opportunities with interested airlines for connectivity to South and Southeast Asia from the international wing of Bhubaneswar Airport.

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