Bhubaneswar: A site selection team of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will visit the four sites identified by the district administration near Khurda on the city outskirt and finalise the site for the proposed second airport in the state.

This was decided at the meeting of officials presided over by chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and attended by Union civil aviation ministry's joint secretary Usha Padhee.

Earlier, the AAI had asked the state government to identify land within 20km of the city to set up a new airport, because the existing one could not be expanded further.

Once on the city outskirts, Biju Patnaik International Airport has now come within the ambit of almost the city centre surrounded by various establishments barring it from further expansion. The facility is barely 3km away from the city centre.

Civil aviation director Suresh Chandra Hota said there was a need of greenfield airport for Bhubaneswar. "Land has been identified and assessment is being done," he said.

Khurda district collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra said in response to the AAI's request, the district administration had identified four sites. "Feasibility study will be conducted by the AAI."

The need for airport expansion was felt with the growing demand of the city in terms of urbanisation and tourism. Over the time, the airport has gained popularity. This year, it was ranked the 17th busiest airport in India by the AAI. The facility registered a 23.1 per cent growth in traffic over the previous year.

The general administration department had asked Idco to look for around 2,000-acre plot in the vicinity of the city.