Bhubaneswar: Armed with all required clearances, the Odisha government through Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) has invited tender for the construction of Shree Jagannath International Airport project at Puri at an estimated cost of Rs 2203 crore.
On behalf of the Commerce and Transport department of the Odisha government, the Chief General Manager (P& C) of IDCO has floated the tender inviting international competitive bids for the airport project in the pilgrim town, sources said.
As per information, the online tender process will start from February 21 and technical bids will be opened on April 21, 2024. A target has been set for completion of the construction work within 1,095 days.
“On behalf of Commerce & Transport Department, Govt. of Odisha, the Chief General Manager (P&C), IDCO, IDCO Towers, Janpath, Bhubaneswar invites International competitive bids in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode in double cover system through online mode only,” the letter issued by IDCO said.
Notably, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had in November 2023 approved diversion of forest land for the Odisha government’s ambitious Shree Jagannath International Airport project at Puri. It came a month after site clearance approval accorded in October.
While the airport will come up over an area of around 1,164.75 acre at an estimated cost of Rs 5,631 crore, the MoEFCC has accorded clearance for 68.81 acre of forest land. Of the remaining, 221.89 acre are privately-owned and the rest state government land in Sipasarubali and Sandhapur under Brahmagiri tehsil.
On January 1, 2021, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to establish an international airport at Puri which will help promote Jagannath culture as land constraints stalled expansion of Bhubaneswar airport, which was getting busier by the day due to the high footfall of tourists and pilgrims to Puri, which is about 65 km from the Odisha capital.
The CM sought his intervention to expedite the process during a visit to Delhi in May last year. Later that month, Naveen, during the flagging off of the Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express train by the PM virtually, invited him to inaugurate the airport once it is ready with his support within three to four years.
