MALKANGIRI/BHUBANESWAR: Malkangiri, once one of the most backward districts afflicted by left wing extremism, on Tuesday found itself on the aviation map after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the airport at Katelguda, scripting a new chapter in seamless connectivity to remotest areas of the state.
In the first phase, nine-seater aircrafts are likely to operate from the airport while larger aircrafts will follow later. With this, the number of operational airports in the state has gone up to seven.“Air connectivity to Malkangiri will usher in a new era of development for people of the region and open up avenues of business and tourism besides helping industrial development of the state,” Naveen said after the inauguration.
The airport has been built over 233 acre of land with a 1,620 metre long and 30 metre wide runway at an expenditure of `70 crore. The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar provided technical assistance to make the airport operational.
The Malkangiri airport is the second significant connectivity project in the district after Gurupriya bridge over Janbai river which was inaugurated by the chief minister in 2018. The bridge provided connectivity between the mainland and the cut-off areas which now is called the Swabhiman Anchal.The chief minister said air connectivity will accelerate development in the inaccessible areas.
Chairman of 5T and Nabin Odisha VK Pandian said air connectivity to Malkangiri was a dream which has been fulfilled by the chief minister. “The chief minister fulfils dreams which seem inconceivable,” he added.The chief minister reached the airport in a VT-100 double engine plane.