The proposed Puri International Cruise Terminal will be developed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore by the Paradip Port Authority in partnership with the Odisha government, Union ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal said at a consultative committee meeting in Puri.
The announcement places Puri at the centre of the Centre’s wider plans to expand cruise tourism and coastal shipping. Sonowal said the government aims to attract one million sea cruise passengers by 2029, as part of efforts to build a larger maritime economy around India’s coastline and waterways.
The meeting on strengthening coastal and cruise shipping was attended by minister of state Shantanu Thakur and eight MPs. Officials from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways outlined measures to promote both sectors, while MPs submitted suggestions on improving maritime infrastructure across the country.
The proposed Puri cruise terminal is expected to be developed through cooperation between the Paradip Port Authority and the Odisha government. The supplied announcement did not specify the project’s exact site, construction timeline, terminal capacity, procurement model or the planned number of berths. These details will determine how the facility integrates with Puri’s existing road, rail, tourism and civic infrastructure.
The project is part of a broader expansion in India’s cruise sector. The country recorded 4.62 lakh ocean cruise passengers and 212 vessel calls in 2025-26, according to figures cited by Sonowal. Passenger traffic was 5.5 times higher and vessel calls were 2.1 times higher than in 2013-14.
The Centre’s Cruise Bharat Mission, launched in September 2024, targets one million sea cruise passengers and four lakh jobs by March 2029. The ministry said the cruise and inland waterways initiatives together are expected to generate more than 5.6 lakh jobs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16 million metric tonnes.
For Puri, a cruise terminal would add a new maritime gateway to a city already shaped by religious tourism and seasonal visitor flows. Its eventual impact will depend not only on the terminal itself but also on how passengers are connected to the city, how peak-season traffic is managed and whether supporting services can handle additional demand. No detailed mobility or visitor-management plan was announced at the meeting.
The ministry also highlighted growth in coastal freight movement. Coastal cargo handled at Indian ports rose from 74 million metric tonnes to 177 million metric tonnes over the past 12 years, an increase of around 140%, Sonowal said. The Centre aims to increase the share of coastal and inland waterways in India’s freight movement from 6% to 12% by 2047.
To support that target, the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme announced in the 2026-27 Union Budget will provide incentives to cargo owners, coastal vessel operators and multimodal transport operators. The government’s plans therefore link passenger cruising with a parallel effort to shift more freight to water-based transport.
In Odisha, the ministry also pointed to the proposed development of National Waterway-5, involving an estimated investment of more than Rs 13,000 crore. The waterway is envisaged to connect industrial and mining centres such as Talcher and Kalinganagar with ports on the east coast.
The ministry said 20 river cruise circuits across 16 National Waterways are operational, while 51 more have been identified for phased development. It also reported that 143 river cruise terminals and landing points are currently operational. The next steps for the Puri project, including design, approvals and implementation milestones, were not specified in the announcement.
