New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Tuesday inaugurated the country's first integrated heliport at Rohini in North Delhi.
India's first heliport has been built by state-owned Pawan Hans.
The new facility has come up at an investment of Rs 100 crore.
The heliport consists of a terminal building having a capacity of 150 passengers, four hangars with the parking capacity of 16 helicopters and nine parking bays.
Besides, it has a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility also for the upkeep of Pawan Hans fleet as well as for third-party maintenance work.
Pawan Hans had successfully carried out trial sorties from the heliport in February last year and had planned to go for full-scale chopper operations from May.
The commencement of services from here is also expected to reduce congestion at the Delhi Airport, which currently handles about 40-50 helicopter arrivals and departures on an average per day besides the large-scale fixed-wing operations, Pawan Hans Ltd chairman and managing director BP Sharma had told news agency PTI last week.
The heliport will also be used for operating services for disaster management, emergency medical services, law and order surveillance as well as a centre for the skill development of pilots and engineers.
Rohini heliport will also promote regional air connectivity through helicopters in the northern region.
(With PTI inputs)
