Jharsuguda: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the much-awaited Jharsuguda airport under the government's regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Udega Desh ka Aam Nagrik)

Odisha's second major airport was flagged off in presence of Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu and Bargarh Lok Sabha MP Prabhas Singh.

Addressing the function, Modi said that the airport in Jharsuguda will be named as Veer Surendra Sai Airport.

Odisha Assembly has recently passed a resolution unanimously to name the newly-constructed Jharsuguda airport after noted freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai.

The airport will provide connectivity to Bhubaneswar, Raipur and Ranchi under Udan scheme.

Built over an area of 909.22 acre area at the cost of Rs 175 crore of which Odisha government has contributed Rs 50 crore, the airport has been developed for all weather conditions including operations for Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 type aircrafts.

Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted a 4-C category license to the Jharsuguda airport allowing it for operation of bigger planes.

During his one-day visit to Odisha, Modi also dedicated the Dulanga Coal Mining Project of the NTPC in Sundargarh district, Garjanbahal open cast mine of the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) and the 53-km-long Jharsuguda-Serdega railway line constructed by MCL to the nation at the programme.

Notably, Garjanbahal open cast mine of the MCL has coal block reserve of 230 million tonnes with annual production capacity of 13 million tonnes. It will generate direct employment for 894 people and indirect job opportunities for 5,000.

Similarly, Dulanga project is the second mine of the NTPC that was operational in Odisha. The coal produced from the mine will be used in under construction 1600 MW Darlipali Super Thermal Power Plant of the NTPC in Sundargarh district.

Earlier in the day, Modi launched the commencement of work for the country's first coal gasification based fertilizer plant at Talcher.