Phase-1 of Gopalpur Port to be completed by March 2013

Cargo-handling capacity pegged at 3.5 million tonne with construction of one berth initially

The first phase of Gopalpur port being developed by Gopalpur Port Ltd is likely to be completed by March, 2013, an official said. "The work is under progress and all efforts are being made to begin cargo handling by March 30, 2013," one of the directors of GPL M M Moharana said. 

The cargo-handling capacity would be around 3.5 million tonne with the construction of one berth initially, he said. GPL will construct three berths -- coal, iron and multipurpose in the same year, he added. Besides the port work, other supporting infrastructure like power distribution system, railway and road connectivity are under process to meet the deadline, he said. 

He, however, said construction was hampered due to agitation by some people. "We are trying our best to meet their demands. We have decided to involve some prominent persons of the area, including local MLAs (Gopalpur and Chhatrapur and MP from Berhampur) to sort out their problem," Moharana said. The company director said the Gopalpur Port Dock Workers' Union affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) threatened to launch an agitation following injury of a worker allegedly due to attack by the GPL officials. 

Company officials, however, claimed that the attacker was not an employee of the Gopalpur Port Ltd. GPL was awarded the project for the development of an all weather port by the state government with an investment of around Rs 1,700 crore in 2008. "We have already invested around Rs 320 crore so far in the port project," Mohrana said.

Source: Business Standard

Silk city Berhampur gets air connectivity; first flight takes off from Rangeilunda

A new chapter was added to the state’s aviation history today with the launch of a non-scheduled air charter service from Gopalpur to Bhubaneswar. Global Avianautics (GAL), which runs the Government Aviation Training Institute (GATI) for the state government in Bhubaneswar, is operating the service. “The flight will take off daily from Gopalpur’s Rangeilunda air strip for Bhubaneswar. The six-seater twin engine mini aeroplane Pipper Seneca will carry four passengers and two crew members. The cost of a flight from Gopalpur to Bhubaneswar would be between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000. The distance between the two cities, which is about 186km by road, will be covered in 40 minutes,” said O.P. Suri, CEO of GAL, and wing commander Pradeep Chakravarty. Ganjam collector V. Kartikeya Pandian inaugurated the service on the auspicious day of Ram Navami. However, there were no passengers in the inaugural flight.

GAL would provide air journey to Visakhapatnam and other nearby cities having big or small airstrips, provided the plane covers the distance within two hours. Clarifying the status of the non-scheduled air charter services, officials of the GAL said that there is no schedule journey of the flight. “When we have four passengers, we will take off,” said a GAL officer.

Although there is no air ticket booking office or enquiry counter at Rangeilunda at present, GAL is planning to open an office on the premises of the PWD office situated near the air strip, sources said.

The GAL aviation services company is providing various aviation services such as flying training for fixed and rotary wing aircrafts, development and operation of small airstrips, non-scheduled air charter services and aero sports. The officers are quite optimistic about the prospects at Rangeilunda.

GATI at Bhubaneswar is using Rangeilunda as the second flying club in Orissa. “As the Bhubaneswar airport runway suffers from traffic congestion most of the time, the civil aviation ministry was in search of a suitable substitute and considered Rangeilunda air strip as the best,” captain M.S. Mander, flight instructor in-charge of GATI, had said earlier.

Mander, who had surveyed the Rangeilunda air strip along with wing commander Pradeep Chakravarty earlier, had urged the district administration to extend the present runway of the Rangeilunda air strip so that bigger aircraft could land and take off. Gopalpur, which is a major tourist destination, could have air connectivity with Calcutta, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar.

Rangeilunda is located at a distance of around 5km from Berhampur and is adjacent to Berhampur University. The Britishers built the Rangeilunda air strip during the Second World War.

Meanwhile, Road and Building, Division-II, Berhampur has prepared an estimated Rs 27.29-crore plan for development of Rangeilunda airstrip. Further, a green filed domestic airport has been proposed to come up at Konisi on the outskurts of Berhampur city.

Source: The Telegraph, IBNLive.com

Berhampur Airport (Rangeilunda) progress updates from OTV

Click here to see the future plans for Berhampur Airport at Rangeilunda

The historic Berhampur Airport (Rangeilunda) is located at a distance of around 5km from the city and adjacent to Berhampur University. The Rangeilunda air base was built by the Britishers during the second world war period and it remained as an air strip since then. The runway is currently used by the defence establishment, state government, private companies and VIPs to reach Berhampur and other places in south Odisha. State's second flying training Institute is coming up at Berhampur Airport in Rangeilunda. The Air Traffic Control Tower (MSSR site) and AAI offices are located close to the Airport. Recently efforts are being made by the government to make it a full fledged domestic Airport. This news video on the history and progress of Berhampur Airport is from OTV.

Distance from Rangeilunda Airport- (Berhampur University- 0km, Berhampur city 5km, Gopalpur-On-Sea-5km, Chatrapur-10km , Taratarini Hill Shrine 30km, Taptapani-50km, Chilka- 40km, Bhairabi Temple- 15km).