After a string of interactions with the Union government, Odisha is all set to send the proposal to the Centre for according international status to the city airport by January end.
“We will move the proposal to Government of India for granting international status to the Biju Patnaik airport probably by January end only after the completion of the new terminal”, said Bijay Kumar Patnaik, the state chief secretary.
Patnaik addressed an interaction session with the top executives of corporate houses and industry representatives organized by the Odisha state council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on problems faced by industries across sectors.
Patnaik said, the government has initiated talks with Indigo Airlines and Singapore based air service provider Silk Air to start international flight services.
Talks were also held with Singapore Airlines to start international air services to and from Odisha during the five-member delegation led by Patnaik to the island nation in November 2012, but it did not fructify.
He said, the new terminus will be used for the domestic terminal while the older one will cater to the international fliers.
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Industry representatives raised a host of issues like delay in renewal of memorandum of understanding (MoU), high power cost, escalating input costs, delay in handing over of land and increase in water charges that posed hurdles to smooth functioning of industries.
The industry representatives also opposed the purchase of products by the mega industries from vendors outside the state instead of local ones.