Berhampur, Feb. 17: A new satellite township consisting of around 10,000 houses will be developed on 101 acres near Sitalapalli mouza of Konisi tehsil in Ganjam district.

The proposed township - Berhampur North City - will have all modern facilities and accommodate 40,000 people. Apart from residential houses, the township, to be developed in the public-private partnership, will also house shopping malls, educational institutions and vending zones.

The proposed project of the Berhampur Development Authority was recently accorded approval of a state-level committee headed by chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi.

"The cost for initial development of infrastructure and public amenities has been pegged at Rs 113 crore," said authority chairman Subash Moharana.

Since several industrial projects are in the pipeline, there is a need to develop a township for providing residential accommodation to the employees, said Moharana.

A special economic zone, a plant of Tata Steel, a titanium complex of Saraf Agency, a thermal power plant of R.K. Power and makeover of the Gopalpur port are scheduled to take place here in the near future. The government has set up an engineering college, while Tata Steel is also building a hospital.

The development authority will apply for transfer of land, which is possessed by revenue department, in its favour.

"Though the state government has accorded green signal to the project, we are still working on other modalities," the authority's secretary Dipti Mohapatra.

The project will be implemented through the comprehensive infrastructure development fund scheme, she said.

Berhampur Builders' Association president Uma Shankar Panigrahi welcomed the move. He, however, asked the authorities to meet the demand of drinking water in the new township.

Earlier, the authority had launched Vivek Vihar Housing Project Phase-I. The phase-II of the project remains incomplete as the authority is battling some land issues in the court.