Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will put former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik’s iconic Dakota aircraft for public display at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) from March 5 – the day celebrated in Odisha as Biju Jayanti and the Panchayati Raj Diwas.
City-based Aerospace Research and Development Center has bagged the contract for the repair and installation of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 3 crore and the agency has already begun work on the reassembly and installation of the aircraft transported from Kolkata.
The BPIA Director, Prasanna Pradhan said, “The repair works are underway at the state government hangar in the airport. Following the repairs, the aircraft will be taken to the allotted space at the airport and reassembled before installing it on a pedestal for display.”
The aircraft had been lying at the Kolkata airport for 55 years and was transported by truck to Bhubaneswar earlier this month.
