Puri airport can be Odisha’s doorway to international destinations
BHUBANESWAR: The state government is eyeing the proposed airport at Puri as the state’s main future international airport since the one in Bhubaneswar has limited scope of expansion. Before writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had already held discussions with him on the proposal. The state hopes the project will sail through.
A senior government officer said once commissioned the Puri airport could be the main international airport while Bhubaneswar would largely cater to the domestic flights.
Stating that an airport is built with a vision of serving for a century of time ahead, the officer said, “When Bangalore airport had to be redeveloped, it had to be shifted by 40 km out of the city area. Same is the case with Hyderabad and many other new airports in the country. So, it would be something similar for Bhubaneswar”.
The state had earlier proposed a site towards Berhampur, around 40 km away from the Biju Patnaik International Airport.
Though such an airport would serve the people of the capital city, the distance between the airport and the golden triangle of Puri-Bhubaneswar-Konark would increase further. The one proposed in Puri – Sri Jagannath International Airport would also be within 40 km from Bhubaneswar besides being close to Puri and Konark.
“Majority of tourists come to see the beautiful beaches of Puri, Konark and above all, to submerge themselves in the abode of Lord Jagannath. The upcoming world-class heritage city in Puri is being planned in right earnest to attract international tourists. An airport closer to Puri will make these destinations more accessible to international visitors,” the officer said.
The Puri airport, connected with the 451-km upcoming coastal highway from Gopalpur in Odisha to Digha in West Bengal, major ports in Paradip, Dhamra and Gopalpur on either sides besides deep water ports at Subarnarekha and a riverine port on Mahanadi and a chain of 12 other non-major ports, would together provide air, water and road connectivity to the entire coastline, providing a huge boost to the East Coast Economic Corridor, government officers said.
The tourism and hospital sectors are upbeat with the government plan. “An airport in Puri will be a huge boost to the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors,” said Debasish Patnaik, director of Hotel Crown.
Around 20 years ago, only four flights were operating from Bhubaneswar airport on a daily basis.
It has gone beyond 90 flights a day. To cater to the future growth potential, the state needs a state-of-the-art, scalable international airport and Puri is ideally located to set up an international airport to act as a driver for the tourism sector.
With religious and heritage tourism being a growing sector, several states have been requesting the Centre to develop international airports at Tirupati, Ayodhya, Jammu, among others.