BHUBANESWAR: Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) will soon have cyclone-resilient infrastructure which can sustain the impact of extremely strong winds gusting up to 280 km/hr. BPIA Director Suresh Chandra Hota said, “We will approach the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) for designing the specifications required for the airport’s infrastructure which can survive extremely strong winds.” Accordingly, the infrastructure will be modified, he said.
The City airport has sustained damages to the tune of Rs 37 crore in cyclone Fani which battered the State on May 3. The monstrous storm damaged the roof of Terminal 1, Air Traffic Control tower, fire watch tower, water tank of crash fire tenders, motor transport section and several other sensitive installations at the airport. Besides, BPIA’s tensile fabric structure and hoardings were also damaged. Airport officials said it has been now planned to set up a tensile fabric structure which can withstand high-velocity winds.
“We had done meticulous planning and taken adequate precautionary measures ahead of the cyclone due to which flight operations were resumed the day after Fani battered the City. About 11,000 litre of diesel was also stocked to run the airport as a blackout was expected in the aftermath of the cyclone,” Hota said.
BPIA was up and running by May 4 afternoon with the help of generators while power supply was restored in the airport on May 7 evening. BPIA officials said making the airport operational at the earliest was pivotal for getting relief materials. It also provided relief to passengers stranded due to the cyclone.
“As of now, the roof of Terminal-1 has been temporarily repaired. However, it will later be modified to withstand adverse climatic conditions,” the BPIA Director added.