Bhubaneswar: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has been asked to carry out pre-feasibility study of the site identified by Odisha Government for the proposed international airport in Puri, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri informed this in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Replying to an unstarred question raised by by Rajya Sabha member Sujit Kumar, he said Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had requested the Centre for establishing an international airport at Puri for which the State government has identified land close to the pilgrim town.
Accordingly, the Civil Aviation Secretary had convened a meeting regarding the project with officials of Odisha Government, AAI and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on January 12.
“At the meeting, the AAI was asked to carry out pre-feasibility study of the site based on the data provided by the state Government,” Puri said.It is pertinent to mention here that CM Naveen Patnaik on January 1 had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommending him to establish an international airport in Puri in the name of Sri Jagannath International Airport.