Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Odisha plans to provide cruise services from Puri to Paradip, Digha, Visakhapatnam, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands as part of a significant effort to increase coastal and marine tourism. To enable these services, the state government would build a special cruise port in Puri in partnership with the Paradip Port Authority (PPA). According to reports, at the forthcoming India Maritime Week (IMW), which will take place in Mumbai from October 27 to October 31, the state government is getting ready to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the PPA for the building of the cruise terminal.
PPA Chairman P.L. Haranadh invited Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to the IMW 2025 event during a visit to Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Sources claim that the cruise terminal project would be constructed in stages, with Puri being the primary focus of the first phase and Paradip in the Jagatsinghpur district likely to be included in the second. Both projects are anticipated to be constructed as part of an integrated tourist and infrastructure complex, and the proposed terminal will be situated near Puri’s soon-to-be international airport.
The project will be carried out in collaboration with the PPA, the Tourism Department, and the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (IPICOL). The cruise terminal’s detailed project report (DPR) is now being prepared. Private companies will operate cruise services on routes linking Puri with Paradip, Digha in West Bengal, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while the state government and the PPA will build the cruise infrastructure under the proposed plan. According to officials, the project would create new opportunities for the expansion of the tourist and hospitality industries along the coast of Odisha.
It may be recalled that the state government has already signed MoUs with the PPA for several key maritime projects, including the proposed Bahuda port in Ganjam and a shipbuilding centre in Kendrapara, signalling Odisha’s growing focus on strengthening its maritime economy.
