Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to inaugurate the newly constructed Malkangiri Airport on Tuesday (January 9) facilitating air connectivity to the cut-off regions (Swabhman Anchal) of the state.
Ahead of the inauguration, a successful trial run of a VT-100 flight was conducted at the airport on Sunday. Following the trial run, the Chief Minister wrote on X, “Air connectivity to Malkangiri will usher in a new era of development, open up avenues of business & tourism, and further transform the lives of people in the region.”
The runway of the Malkangiri Airport is 1,500 meters in length and 30 meters in width. The airport has been constructed on over 94.5 hectares of land at an expenditure of around Rs 33 crore.
In the first phase, nine-seat aircraft will operate from the airport while larger aircraft will provide services later.
The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) authorities in Bhubaneswar have provided technical assistance to make the Malkangiri Airport operational.
The functioning of the airport is expected to facilitate rapid economic development in the region.