Bhubaneswar: The Shree Jagannath Airport will be developed on 1,164 acres, which includes around 68 acre forest and 221.48 acre private land in Sipasarubali and Sandhapur under Brahmagiri tehsil, in Puri at a cost of Rs 5,631 crore, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi informed on Tuesday.
“The construction is set to take place in three phases. Once complete, it will have the capacity to handle 46 lakh passengers annually,” he added.
The CM’s statement came a day after the Centre accorded in-principle approval for the proposed greenfield project for which he expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu.
Majhi described the approval for the ambitious infrastructure project as a huge boost to connectivity and religious tourism. “This airport will enhance regional connectivity in the state, provide new momentum to economic growth, and make the holy city of Puri more accessible for pilgrims and tourists,” he added.
It was a journey of 4 years and 4 month between the proposal and in-principle approval for the Puri Shree Jagannath International Airport.
On January 1, 2021, the then CM Naveen Patnaik wrote to PM Modi, proposing the establishment of Shree Jagannath International Airport to boost religious tourism and regional connectivity, given Puri’s significance as a pilgrimage destination due to Shree Jagannath Temple.
The state argued that the nearest airport, Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, would reach saturation within a decade and lacked expansion space, necessitating a new airport in Puri to complement it.
The Odisha government sought site clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the proposed airport in September 2022 and Naveen Patnaik later took it up during a meeting with PM Modi in May 2023.
The site clearance for the greenfield airport project in Puri was granted on September 22, 2023 and the state was tasked with preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) covering development plans, costs, funding, traffic projections, and timelines. Approximately 1,500 acres of land along the Puri-Brahmagiri road were identified for the project.
In February 2024, the Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO) issued a tender worth ₹2,203 crore for the project. Major companies like Adani, GMR, and Fairfax participated in the pre-bidding process.
The project, however, faced delays when the central government’s forest advisory committee deferred approval due to environmental concerns, including the airport’s proximity to endangered Olive Ridley turtle nesting sites, Irrawaddy dolphin habitats, and the INS Chilka naval base. A four-member team from the Union Environment Ministry visited Puri in APril 2025 to review the proposed site at Sipsarubali Mouza.
On May 5, 2025: The Ministry of Civil Aviation granted in-principle approval for the establishment of the Shri Jagannath International Airport, four days after Majhi pushed for fast-tracking the project.
