Bhubaneswar, Oct. 8 -- The proposed Shree Jagannath International Airport in Puri in Odisha has received final environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, clearing a major hurdle for the greenfield project despite wildlife experts raising concerns over its potential impact on migratory birds and endangered marine species, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday. The airport, proposed in the Sipasarubali area of Puri district and just about 5 km from the Jagannath temple, will come up on 471.348 hectares, including 27.887 hectares of forest land, they said. It is planned to handle 4.6 million passengers annually in Phase-I, with an international facility proposed in the first phase itself, subject to regulatory approvals. Its capacity is envisaged to rise to 10.18 million passengers per annum in Phase-II and 16.69 million passengers per annum in Phase-III. Puri collector Dibya Jyoti Parida said the project had received both environmental clearance and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance from the ministry. "Forest-related issues were also cleared. We are now awaiting the final approval from the ministry to proceed with the project," Parida said. Officials aware of the development said the state government is now awaiting a formal no-objection certificate from the ministry and will approach the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for approval to prepare the detailed project report (DPR). Parida said the construction process will be taken up in coordination with the AAI and the state Transport department. The ministry had earlier granted Stage-I, or in-principle, approval under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, for diversion of 27.887 hectares of forest land in the Puri Wildlife Division for the airport. The approval, based on recommendations of ministry's Advisory Committee, came with 33 conditions, including compensatory afforestation over 29.939 hectares of non-forest land. The committee, at its meeting on February 27, directed state government to ensure implementation of mitigation measures and recommendations emerging from impact assessment studies and a site-specific wildlife management plan prepared on the recommendations of Wildlife Institute of India and Zoological Survey of India. The project, however, has faced strong environmental concerns. The WII in October 2025 recommended rejecting the airport proposal, citing its proximity to the existing Bhubaneswar airport, the Balukhanda-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary and the Chilika Ramsar site. According to the WII assessment, because the project boundary is about 16 km from Chilika Lake, a wetland of international importance, the airport could pose a "catastrophic" risk to migratory bird populations and affect critical habitats of endangered marine species, including Olive Ridley turtles. It also flagged, in its report seen by HT, the site's location along migratory bird corridors forming part of the Central Asian Flyway, saying the proximity could increase the risk of bird strikes, posing a threat both to aviation safety and wildlife. The WII cited international incidents to underline the danger. At Muan International Airport in South Korea, a bird strike involving migratory Baikal teals in December 2024 killed 179 people. At Bahir Dar International Airport in Ethiopia, a bird strike near Lake Tana in 1988 claimed 35 lives. Despite the concerns, the project is being pushed as a major infrastructure and tourism initiative for Puri, as the current international airport in Bhubaneswar has reached its maximum potential and can't be expanded horizontally any further due to human habitations around it....