Bhubaneswar: The development authority will temporarily shift the Baramunda bus stand to the foothills of Khandagiri to start work on the long-awaited Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) here.

The Bhubaneswar Development Authority has earmarked two acres of land at Khandagiri for the purpose.

Sources said the bus stand was being shifted to the new site for smooth execution of the project.

Vice-chairman of the development authority, Krishan Kumar, made a presentation before chief secretary A.P. Padhi on Monday to update him about the plan of action for conversion of the bus stand into a state-of-the-art ISBT.

Kumar said the detailed project report of the ISBT would be ready by January 25, while work will begin by June. "We have earmarked a temporary site near Khandagiri to park buses that use the Baramunda terminal. The project report will be submitted to the government by January 25 and the tender process will begin simultaneously. We are planning to finish all the modalities and start work on the terminal by June," said Kumar.

Earlier in January, the architectural plan with amenities for the ISBT was submitted to the state government, which approved the Rs 180-crore project. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had reviewed the design of the project and directed the officials to start work on it on a priority basis.

The authorities plan to construct the ISBT as a world-class facility. It will have amenities including Wi-Fi connectivity, real-time parking information system, passenger information system, announcement system, surveillance, drinking water kiosks, sewerage treatment and effluent treatment plants for washing buses, along with elevators and escalators.

The government has set an April 2019 deadline for completing work on the project.

"It is one of the ambitious projects of the government for the city and we want to deliver the results fast. ," said a development authority official.