Bhubaneswar, Mar 23: In a landmark move to improve Visa Services in Odisha, a tripartite agreement was signed today between the Home Department, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), and VFS Global to establish a Visa Application Centre (VAC) at the Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Bus Terminal (BSABT) in Baramunda.

The agreement was formalized by Soumendra Patra, Additional Secretary (Home); Manas Ranjan Padhi, Secretary, BDA; and Viney John, Associate Vice-President (Administration, South Asia), VFS Global Group. The state government has allocated around 3,000 square feet of space at BSABT for the centre.

Currently, residents of Odisha need to travel to cities like Kolkata, Delhi, or Hyderabad to access visa services. The new facility will eliminate this need, making the process more accessible locally. The initiative follows approval granted in December by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and sources indicate the centre will become operational soon.

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In a parallel development, BDA signed an agreement with the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC) to lease vacant space at the terminal. Under this arrangement, BDA will lease approximately 77,000 square feet across two floors to OCAC, which will further allocate the space to IT companies. The move aims to integrate transport, services, and technology within a single hub.

BDA Vice-Chairman Chanchal Rana highlighted that BSABT is poised to evolve into a combined transport and business hub, housing IT and ITeS companies alongside the Visa Application Centre. He noted that increased footfall at the terminal will benefit vendors and other stakeholders.

Spread over 11 acres, BSABT is the largest bus terminal in Odisha, managing over 1,500 buses and nearly 20,000 passengers daily across inter-state and intra-state routes. With the addition of the Visa Application Centre and IT facilities, BSABT is set to become a key hub for both travel and business in the state.