Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a number of projects during his visit to the state on September 22 as a part of his strategy to develop eastern India and boost the BJP’s prospects in the state.
The projects to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister belong to the public sectors units — Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), NTPC Ltd., Talcher Fertilisers Ltd. and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Modi will inaugurate Jharsuguda airport, dedicate the MCL’s Garjanbahal open cast mines project and Jharsuguda-Sardega railway lines to the nation and commence coal production and transportation from the NTPC’s Dulanga coal mine.
Modi will also launch the work for India’s first coal gasification-based fertiliser plant. It will come up an estimated investment of Rs 13,000 crore. The plant is targeted to be commissioned by 2022. The fertiliser plant is being developed by Talcher Fertilisers Limited (TFL), a joint venture company of GAIL (India) Limited, Coal India Limited (CIL), Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited (RCFL) and Fertiliser Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).
The MCL’s director, operations (technical) J.P. Singh and finance director K.R. Vasudevan, the NTPC’s executive director (eastern region-II) M.P. Sinha, the TFL’s CMO and the RCFL’s chairman U.V. Dhatrak, and the AAI’s member (planning) A.K. Pathak briefed the media about the projects.
Officials said the AAI had developed Jharsuguda airport in collaboration with the state government at an estimated cost of Rs 210 crore with Rs 75 crore contribution from the state government. Spread across over 1,027.5 acres, the airport’s terminal building is built on 4,000sqm. It has been developed for all weather operations, including night operations for A-320 type of aircraft.
With a 2390-metre-long runway, the airport will be able to park AB-320 type aircraft. It will provide necessary connectivity to Bhubaneswar, Raipur and Ranchi.
In Odisha, other than Jharsuguda, three more airports, namely Jeypore in Koraput district, Rourkela in Sundargarh district and Utkela in Kalahandi district are being developed to provide connectivity to the remote and far-flung areas of the state. For revival and upgrade of the four airports, Rs 370 crore have been sanctioned.
