Sustainable Mobility Plan for BKPPER Takes Shape with ADB Support

Bhubaneswar: With Odisha’s urban centres expected to undergo rapid expansion in the coming years, the state has begun work on a sustainable mobility framework aimed at improving how people and public transport move across the Bhubaneswar–Cuttack–Puri–Paradip Economic Region (BKPPER).

The framework will look at mobility beyond individual cities, with emphasis on regional transport planning, transformation of public bus services and stronger institutional mechanisms for sustainable urban transport. The exercise is being taken up in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and is aligned with the aspirations of Odisha Vision 2036 and Vision 2047.

These issues came up for discussion at an inception workshop on the “Preparation of Sustainable Urban Mobility Transition Plans for Odisha”, organised by the Housing & Urban Development Department in collaboration with ADB at Kharavela Bhawan in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

The ADB team presented key findings and recommendations from its Inception Report during the workshop. Stakeholders discussed three major components of the exercise — the Comprehensive Regional Mobility Plan for BKPPER, the Bus Service Transformation Roadmap and the Draft Odisha Transit-Oriented Development Policy.

Housing & Urban Development Department Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee said the exercise should ultimately produce a framework that can be implemented on the ground rather than remain limited to a policy document.

Recalling her early years of service in a remote area of Odisha, Padhee pointed to the everyday impact of poor connectivity, particularly when people have to travel long distances to access essential services and economic opportunities.

She said mobility is closely linked to access, productivity and quality of life and called for coordinated, forward-looking planning as Odisha moves into a new phase of urbanisation.

“Odisha is in a position where we can put the right systems in place as we move towards the next level of urbanisation,” Padhee said, stressing that the state has an opportunity to adopt sustainable mobility systems before car-dependent patterns become entrenched.

ADB Transport Sector Office Director Kanzo Nakai also underlined the economic cost of inefficient urban transport. Referring to an ADB study covering six major metropolitan cities, he said commuters in some cities spend as much as four hours a day travelling, resulting in significant productivity losses.

Nakai said Odisha’s present stage of urbanisation gives it an opportunity to avoid some of the transport and infrastructure problems faced by older metropolitan areas and develop more integrated and sustainable mobility systems.

The workshop brought together officials from transport, urban development, infrastructure and other related sectors. Transport Commissioner Amitav Thakur, Director of Municipal Administration Arindam Dakua, CRUT Managing Director Md. Siddique Alam, IDCO Managing Director D Prasant Reddy and BDA Vice-Chairman Chanchal Rana were among those present.

Senior officials from the Works Department, OSRTC, Police, IDCO and KDA, along with the Collectors of Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Puri and Khordha districts, also participated, with several joining the workshop online.

From ADB and the consultant team, Senior Transport Advisor Saugata Dasgupta, consultants Bankim Kalra and Zohra Mutabanna, and Ankush Malhotra and Pritha Ghosh Chatterjee of SYSTRA, among others, took part in the discussions.

The deliberations will feed into the preparation of an integrated mobility transition framework for Odisha, with the BKPPER region as a key focus. The proposed framework is expected to address regional connectivity, public transport and urban development together, with the broader aim of creating a more efficient, inclusive and sustainable mobility system.