Keeping in mind the increase in footfall, the Central government will grant permission for building a new terminal at Bhubaneswar airport, Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), within a month, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said.
Post a review meeting, Naidu said the new terminal at the airport is expected to be completed within two years.
At the moment, the capacity of Terminal-1 stands around 40 lakh passengers annually. However, it has been handling 50 lakh passengers, Naidu said. “This underscores the urgent need to expand its capacity to accommodate up to 80 lakh passengers per year,” he added.
The necessary permissions for the new terminal building will be issued within a month after some security protocols. Naidu also highlighted the importance of the airport which connects to 20 cities across the country and four international destinations.
The Union Minister mentioned that several works, such as infrastructure extensions and enhancements to passenger amenities, are currently in progress and are expected to be completed within a month. Additionally, he stated that the existing Instrument Landing System (ILS) will undergo an upgrade within the same timeframe. He also noted that the ministry will consider requests for establishing air connectivity from Bhubaneswar to cities like Jammu, Surat, Jaipur, and Vizag.
(With PTI inputs)