Bhubaneswar: The state government has directed the tourism department and the Chilika Development Authority to cooperate with SpiceJet and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and explore the possibility of introducing seaplane services in the state, an official said.

The instructions, issued by chief secretary A.P. Padhi, comes days after the low-cost carrier and the AAI evinced interest in rolling out water aerodromes in Odisha to connect three major tourist destinations with Bhubaneswar, he said.

In a letter to Padhi earlier this month, SpiceJet said it was trying to assess the possibilities of starting seaplane operations in parts of the country with focus on Odisha. "We are already charting out a detailed project report to assess the feasibilities, infrastructure development, capacity building and policy level implementation to explore the potential of introducing sea plane operation in India, with special focus on the state of Odisha," it said in the letter.

SpiceJet has proposed to connect three routes in Odisha, which have commercial as well as tourism importance - Bhubaneswar to Puri via Chilika lake, Bhubaneswar to Chandipur via Bhitarkanika National Park and Bhubaneswar to Hirakud Dam in Sambalpur.

In another letter, the AAI sought the support of the local administration, particularly the meteorological and hydrological departments, for setting up the amphibious aircraft operations.

It said the Bhubaneswar airport and the Chilika lake had been short-listed for a pre-feasibility study and requested the government and the Chilika Development Authority to make arrangements for it.