Odisha: Puri To Get A New International Airport, Tenders Invited For Phase 1 Works

Known for its twelfth century Jagannath Temple, Puri in Odisha is all set to get an international airport.

The state government has set the ball rolling for the greenfield facility by issuing a global tender for the first-phase development, operation, and maintenance of the facility through a public-private partnership (PPP) model, with an estimated budget of Rs 2,203 crore.

Slated to come up near Sipasarubali in Puri district, the Sri Jagannath International Airport will annually handle 4.6 million passengers in the first phase.

As per the tender floated by the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO), the construction work is likely to be completed within 1,095 days and the selected bidder will have to maintain it for seven years from the date of commercial operation.

In November 2023, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change granted approval for the diversion of forest land for the airport project in Puri, following the site clearance granted the previous month.

In 2021, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on setting up an international airport at Puri which will help promote Jagannath culture.

Notably, Odisha, situated on India's eastern coast, currently relies on just two major airports — the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, established in 1962 and serving as the state's sole international airport, alongside the Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Jharsuguda, which primarily caters to domestic flights.

Given Puri's status as an international tourist destination and its recent prominence due to the Parikrama project, the international airport is anticipated to provide a valuable alternative to the existing airport in Bhubaneswar.