Berhampur, Feb. 2: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today inaugurated a state-of-the-art bus terminus at Haldiapadar on the outskirts of the city.

"Built on five acres, the two-storey building is equipped with rest rooms for drivers and passengers, a garage, a taxi stand, parking facilities, community toilets, a canteen and ticket counters," said executive engineer of public works department (PWD) division-I Binod Padhi. The urban development department has developed the terminus for Rs 12.87 crore.

Sources said some 350 ordinary private buses, 50 express private buses and 28 OSRTC buses would use the terminus every day.

Traffic officials hoped that the new bus terminus would help ease vehicular congestion in the city as long-route buses would no longer be allowed to enter the city.

"We hope the project will help the residents of the city and its outskirts," said chairman of the Berhampur Development Authority Subash Maharana.

Earlier, the main bus terminus was the Old Bus Stand near Berhampur Stadium. Operating since 1950, the bus terminus was shut down on January 1, 2012.

All the buses had been operating from the makeshift new bus stand at Haldiapadar since then. However, the Ganjam district administration earmarked land for construction of a state-of-the-art bus terminus there in 2013 and construction started in July 2014.

Today, Naveen also laid the foundation stone of the second campus of Khallikote University and addressed the annual event of the university's students' union. "The state is an important education destination in the map of the countryand the youth force is important for us a. Funds are not a problem," the chief minister said while addressing the varsity's students.

Naveen also inaugurated various projects, including a new building of Chhatrapur tehsil office and a skill development institute at Chhatrapur.