Odisha invites tenders for Puri airport phase 1 works

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation has invited tenders for the first-phase development, operation and maintenance of the proposed international airport at Puri, officials said. The Sri Jagannath International Airport will be constructed near Sipasarubali in Puri district. The first phase entails work on public-private-partnership mode for 4.6 million passengers per annum (mppa) capacity at an estimated cost of Rs 2,203 crore.

As per the tender, the eligible bidder will complete the construction work in 1,095 days and maintain it for seven years from the date of commercial operation.

The tenders can be submitted between February 21 and April 20. The airport will come up over a total area of around 1,165 acres, the officials said.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had in November 2023 approved diversion of forest land for Odisha government’s ambitious Sri Jagannath International Airport project at Puri. It came a month after site clearance approval accorded in October.

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.

The Chief Minister 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 Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express train by the Prime Minister virtually, invited him to inaugurate the airport once it is ready with his support within three to four years.