BHUBANESWAR: In a major boost to aviation sector in Odisha, the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has floated a global tender for the first phase construction of an international airport at Puri.
As per the tender notice, the proposed Sri Jagannath International Airport will be built in public private partnership (PPP) mode near Sipasarubali in Puri district. The competitive international bid has been invited for the phase-1 construction at a cost of Rs 2,203 crore. The airport will have a capacity of handling 4.6 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in phase-1.
The project for which the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) clearance has been obtained will be developed in three phases at an estimated cost of Rs 5,631 crore. Once completed, the airport would emerge as a growth engine for development of the state and play a key role in boosting tourism and economy.
An official of Idco said, on behalf of the Commerce and Transport department, the corporation has invited international competitive bidding on PPP mode for development, operation, and management of the greenfield airport. “The tender will be available online for bidding from February 21. The pre-bid meeting via video-conferencing has been scheduled on March 15 and the bids will be opened at 5.30 pm on April 21. The construction is likely to be completed within three years,” he said.
The total land area of the airport will be around 1,164 acre, including 68.81 acre of forest and 221.48 acre of private land in Sipasarubali and Sandhapur areas under Brahmagiri tehsil. The airport will have precision approach runways and a cargo terminal.
Official sources said, while 943 acre of government land, including the forest land, has already been acquired, process is on for acquisition of private land - 153.37 acre in Sipasarubali and 68.11 acre in Sandhapur. In November last year, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had cleared diversion of forest land for the ambitious project.
“Valuation of the land is going on and is expected to be over by the end of the month. Hopefully, the private land acquisition will be completed in the next four to five months. But, before that airport work can be started on the acquired government land. We have also identified nearly 1,000 acre land near the site for further expansion of the airport,” said a revenue official.
The proposed airport gained momentum after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2011 to establish an international airport at Puri in view of high tourist footfall in the pilgrim city in future.