Puri: A three-member team of senior officials from Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) on Wednesday visited the proposed site for Sri Jagannath International Airport in Puri.
The team along with district officials visited the land identified near Giral village area located alongside the Puri-Brahmagiri road. The officials of Idco discussed about the land acquisition with the district administration.
The district administration has identified about 1500 acres of land most of which belong to the Government. A small part of the site comes under the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ). So, the team advised the administration to take land beyond the CRZ limits, sources said.
They also discussed clearance required for the land acquisition under forest and environment norms for the airport, the sources said.
The team inspected places marked for installation of air traffic control tower, runway, hanger, passenger waiting place, parking place and connectivity.
The government has roped in a noted company to conduct survey and soil tests, landing and take-off runways, installation of other buildings and facilities that are mandatory for an international airport and prepare a plan/map of the project.
In June last year, a multi-disciplinary team from Airports Authority of India (AAI) visited Puri in June 2021 for conducting pre-feasibility study of the site identified by the State Government for establishment of a greenfield airport.
On New Year’s Day in 2021, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposing to set up an international airport at Puri in the name of Sri Jagannath International Airport.
The CM had also urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation to take up this airport as a priority project. The CM had also assured all support required for establishing the airport in a record time.