Bhubaneswar: It took the development authority one month after submission of design to float tender for selection of an executing agency for the ambitious inter-state bus terminal (ISBT) project at Baramunda here.

Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) officials have also come up with a roadmap with a set of activities to facilitate smooth execution of the project.

"According to the decision, we have floated the tender for the project and plan to complete it before June. The work will begin simultaneously," said an official of the development authority.

As part of the roadmap, the authorities will first take steps to ease traffic flow during project execution for which temporary bus parking lot will be created on the foothills of Khandagiri.

Night coaches and intercity buses will be parked here.

The authorities have also decided on the ways to source fund for the Rs 183-crore project. While the housing and urban development department will bear 40 per cent of the project cost, the development authority will take the remaining amount as bank loan.

The project will be built on 17 acres of land, of which 15 acres are already available while the development authority. The garage of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation adjacent to the bus terminus will be demolished and the rest two acres acquired.

The general administration department will allot the land to the Bhubaneswar Development Authority.

The development authority has made it mandatory in its tender document that the ISBT structures will incorporate designs from Odisha textiles and the city's temple architecture. "It has been made mandatory to retain our ancient architectural style," the official said.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation will also remain one of the important stakeholders in the project. The civic authorities will help the development authority in taking up the demolition and eviction drives for the project. They will also take care of the temporary bus parking at Khandagiri.

"We are prepared to help the agencies execute their work with ease. The Baramunda bus terminal is one of the ambitious projects of the city and it will benefit many," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

"We will make every effort to ensure that the work starts shortly and is completed before deadline," he said.

Jatni resident Niranjan Mohanty, a passenger at Baramunda, said it was necessary to develop the bus stand into a world-class facility.

"The infrastructure of Baramunda is not up to the mark for a smart city like Bhubaneswar. The authorities must do something to improve the bus terminal and retain the image of the city," said Mohanty.