Puri: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved 1,500-acre land at Sipasarubali near Girala in Brahmagiri Mouza of Puri district for the proposed international airport.
Informing the media, Puri Collector Samarth Verma said the district administration had identified four locations for the proposed international airport ahead of the two-day visit by a 5-member technical team led by three senior AAI officials Shantanu Phalnikar, Vinod Kumar Pillai and Sushil Kumar Verma and two senior Odisha officials.
The team visited all the four sites of Girala and Sipasarubali on the town’s western side as well as Samagara and Baliguali on the eastern end on June 17.
“The AAI team finalised on Siparasubali in Brahmagiri mouza as the ideal location for fulfilling all criteria for an international airport,” the collector added.
Briefing the media, Phalnikar said the AAI has prepared a feasibility report on the geographical location, the runway for the landing and takeoff of the flights, wind direction, road connectivity and economic viability.
Also Read: Location Survey Takes Off For Proposed International Airport In Odisha’s Puri
“The district administration has provided the details of the land status. We will prepare a blueprint on the design structure for the proposed international airport after a meeting with the state government,” he added.
Puri sub-collector Bhabatarana Sahu said that the AAI team expressed satisfaction over the location of the proposed airport at Sipasurabali. Prior to the AAI team visit, the district administration had acquired the land required for the airport, he added.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 1 this year had sought the establishment of an international airport, named after Lord Jagannath, at Puri.
Also Read: Odisha CM Proposes To Centre For International Airport At Puri
