The new terminal of the Biju Patnaik airport in the city, which is now waiting for international tag, is expected to be commissioned by middle of February.
“The domestic terminal will be ready by February 15 and the civil aviation department will inaugurate it,” said Chief Secretary, Bijay Kumar Patnaik after reviewing the progress of the new terminal.
Patnaik has directed the heads of the departments engaged in the infrastructure development to complete the work by February 7.
He also reviewed, the progress of work on the road leading to the airport, internal road connecting the old terminal building, construction of pavements, shifting of electric poles, lightning of roads, installation of transformer and sub-station, laying of underground pipe for water supply, landscaping and beautification etc.
The matters relating to steps taken for checking bird and dog menace, disposal of garbage, deployment of traffic police, shifting of slaughter houses from the vicinity of airport, closing of ponds also figured in the meeting. While the new terminal, with a total built-up area of around 200,000 sq ft, will be dedicated for the domestic traffic, the older one will cater to the need of the international fliers. The new terminal, built at a cost of around Rs 100 crore, can handle peak hour traffic of 800 passengers. It has already undergone a trial run in November 2012. The state government has initiated talks with the Indigo airlines and Singapore based Silk Air to start international flight services from the city.
