Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday inaugurated the newly constructed airport at Malkangiri.

The airport has come up on the outskirts of Malkangiri town in southern Odisha and is strategically located close to Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh border.

The airport will not only provide a boost to the tourism sector in the tribal-dominated area but is also likely to give an advantage to the security forces fighting the Maoists.

Inaugurating the airport at Malkangiri, Naveen said: “Air connectivity to Malkangiri will usher in a new era of development, open up the avenues of business and tourism and further transform the lives of the people in the region.”

The airport’s runway is 1620 metres in length and 30 metres in width. In the first phase, a nine-seater plane will land on the runway. The airport has been constructed for Rs 70 crore.

The district is still considered a bastion of the Maoists. As it shares a border with Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the security forces find it tough to fight with the Maoists.

The setting up of an airport will give an additional advantage to the security forces and help quick mobilisation of troops.

Boosting connectivity in Malkangiri has been a major challenge for the government. A significant breakthrough in this direction came when Naveen inaugurated the Gurupriya bridge in 2018 which connects the cut-off areas of the district, known as Swabiman Anchal, with the mainland.

To bring development to the area, Naveen on Tuesday also approved a Rs 4,000 crore integrated water irrigation project for the district.

The state government has so far developed airports at Jeypore in Koraput, Utkela in Kalahandi, Rourkela in Sundergarh and Rangeilunda in Ganjam district under the air connectivity programmes to extend its reach to the farthest regions of the state.