Bhubaneswar, Oct 4 (IANS): Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Friday announced that the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), Bhubaneswar, will get a new terminal in the next two years due to increasing footfall.

Talking to to media persons after a review meeting here, the Union Minister announced that BPIA Terminal-1 can handle 40 lakh passengers per year but currently around 50 lakh passengers are arriving.

"There is a need to expand the terminal's capacity to accommodate the increasing footfall," he said.

He said permission will be granted within a month and the capacity will be increased from 40 lakh to 80 lakh per year with some security reorganisation at the airport.

The Civil Aviation Minister also said that the authorities have been instructed to complete the work for the upgradation of the existing Instrument Landing System (ILS) within a month.

He also asserted that some ongoing minor works like the extension at the airport and work related to amenities for passengers will also be completed in a month.

Earlier in the day, the minister and the Airports Authority of India officials reviewed the ongoing works at the Bhubaneswar Airport.

"It is a matter of happiness that the Bhubaneswar Airport has witnessed massive development and is now connected to 20 cities in the country and four cities internationally," said the Union Minister.

He said that the governments at the Centre and in Odisha are working to promote the civil aviation sector in Odisha.

He said there is a growing demand to increase connectivity from Bhubaneswar Airport to Jammu, Surat, Jaipur and Vizag and the ministry will consider it.

Taking to social media platform X, the Minister posted: "My discussions with officials on developing Puri Airport were also productive."

The Union Minister said he is committed to modernising Odisha's aviation infrastructure.