Puri International Airport soon to operate in next six month

Sri Jagannath International Airport at Puri is going to be built on 1,164 acres of land and the respective cost is around Rs 5,631 crore. Over 961 acres of land have been acquired, while 221.48 acres are under private land. The private land required for the project includes 153.37 acres in Sipasarubali and 68.11 acres in Sandhapur. As per the official of the project, the proposal was submitted after the identification of land and favourable obstacle limitation surfaces [OLS] survey.

The site clearance approval has been granted by the civil aviation ministry as it was in line with to set up airport in accordance with the Greenfield Airports [GFA] Policy, 2008.

The airport is significantly constructed to promote the traditional and ethical culture of Jagannath temple. Out of total land, 68 acres is under Forest, yet the plans for the rehabilitation and resettlement of locals are also in progress. The government is expected to follow the norms of forest land acquisition.

In 2021, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik strongly urged the central ministry to raise the capital funds to construct the airport infra, while emphasizing the significance of airport construction on the mythical spiritual region. As of now, the closest airport serving the temple region is Biju Patnaik Airport, situated in Bhubaneswar, 65 km away from the heritage city of Jagannath temple.