Puri District Collector stated that the ambitious Puri Greenfield Airport is expected to be operational within the next two years.

To assess the viability, a three-person delegation from Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) went to the proposed Sri Jagannath Greenfield International Airport site at Giral Village along the Puri-Brahmagiri Road on Wednesday (27 July). During the meeting, the team discussed land acquisition with district administration officials.

During the site inspection, it was discovered that some part of the 1,500 acres of land listed by the state administration were within the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ). The team suggested selecting land outside of the CRZ boundaries.

Collector Samarth Verma said that after reviewing the locations designated for the construction of an air traffic control tower, runway, hangar, passenger waiting area, parking space, and connectivity, the agency in charge of surveying the specifics will shortly produce a map of the area, reports the New Indian Express.

The project will start once all requirements have been met, and the authority has given the project the go-ahead. According to Verma, completion is anticipated in less than two years.

A team from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) visited Puri last year not long after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 1, 2022, regarding the setting up of a world-class Shree Jagannath airport in Puri.

Sipasarubali area, on the western side of Puri, was chosen after the team examined three sites.