BHUBANESWAR : The much-awaited Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) at Baramunda in the Capital city will be operational by mid-2022, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Thursday.
The Chief Minister visited Baramunda on Thursday to review progress of the ISBT and bus depot project. He said the State government will spend a whopping Rs 180 crore for construction of the state-of-the-art bus terminal. It will be the new landmark in Bhubaneswar, Naveen stated.
The project has two components, the ISBT and the bus depot of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) at Khandagiri. The Chief Minister went round both the places. The bus depot has been completed and will be made operational soon.
Naveen said that the State government has plans to construct the ISBT as one of the major bus terminals of eastern India. The design of the ISBT is good, he said and added that the bus terminal will have passenger amenities and can accommodate over 200 buses. Besides, a dedicated provision for parking of idle buses is also planned in nine acres of land. Nearly, 550 buses can be accommodated at the parking lot.
The makeover plan of the bus terminal was approved by the State cabinet on September 26, 2019 with an investment of Rs 160 crore. The government had assigned the Bhubaneswar Development Corporation (BDA) for development of the project and the Bridge and Roof Company of India Limited, a Central PSU is implementing the work. The State government has been planning for the makeover of the Baramunda terminal since 2010.