The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has chosen three sites in the periphery of Bhubaneswar for the second greenfield international airport proposed in Odisha State. In a pre-feasibility study, the airport is proposed to be developed on 2,000 acres of land. “The need for a second international airport stems from the growing air traffic. As of now, it has not been decided whether AAI will develop the airport on its own, or the PPP (public private partnership) mode will be explored”, said an official source. Due to certain limitations in the expansion of the city’s ‘Biju Patnaik International Airport’, building a new airport is significant to handle the potential surge in air traffic of Bhubaneswar’s almost 1 million inhabitants in the future. The present airport has no scope for expanding the existing 2,742-m runway and wide-bodied aircraft are unable to land there. The airport belongs to the AAI and is suitable only for Code 'D' aircraft like the B.767-400. It is equipped with facilities for night operations, navigational aids, and offers an apron for six aircraft. The new airport would be equipped to handle jets like the Boeing 777 and Boeing 747. The AAI has not spelt out investment plans for the proposed airport. There is a possibility of developing it in the PPP mode. This would be the airport for the future, catering to the traffic requirement of Odisha State for the next 15-20 years and beyond. #1080.6 

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