Bhubaneswar: The proposed Shree Jagannath International Airport in Puri has moved a step closer to reality after the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change granted final environmental clearance (EC) to the project, removing a major hurdle for commencement of construction. The greenfield airport will come up over 471 hectares of land at Sipasarubali.
“The EC has been accorded for the Puri airport project. A no-objection certificate (NOC) thereafter is required from MoEFCC to go ahead with the project. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will also give a go-ahead to prepare detailed project report (DPR) to take up construction work of the airport,” said collector (Puri) Dibyajyoti Parida.
The project had received Stage-1 EC from the MoEFCC on April 4, which was crucial to fast-track the ambitious project. In June last year, the forest ministry had given in-principle approval after the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) recommended environmental clearance on May 6.
With the final EC, the required forest land formally becomes part of the project and construction can be taken up, government officials said. They added that Stage-1 clearance had come with certain conditions, which have now been fulfilled for obtaining the final clearance.
The airport is proposed to be developed on 471 hectares (1,164 acres) at an estimated cost of Rs 5,631 crore, with a passenger-handling capacity of 4.6 million per annum.Officials said that of the total 114.961 hectares required for the runway, 3.427 hectares is forest land, while 0.037 hectare of forest land is required for the passenger terminal building.
Officials said that of the total 114.961 hectares required for the runway, 3.427 hectares is forest land, while 0.037 hectare of forest land is required for the passenger terminal building.
