Team Herald
PANJIM: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Tuesday announced that the developer for the proposed airport at Mopa will be declared by February 2016 with the first flight expected to take off from the airport in 2019.
“The construction work for the new airport is expected to begin by August-September 2016. The first phase should be ready in about 36 months. We expect the first flight from Mopa in 2019,” he told a gathering at the inaugural of the two-day Aviation ICT Forum 2015, at a starred resort in Bambolim on Tuesday. Union Minister of Aviation Ashok Ganapati Raju inaugurated the summit.
Parsekar said Mopa airport would be developed in four phases and allayed fears that Dabolim would be closed down after Mopa is commissioned. “Unlike Hyderabad and Bangalore where old airports were shut down after the commissioning of new ones, Goa will continue with Dabolim airport,” he said.
The first phase of the Mopa airport will handle 4.4 million passengers annually. The capacity will increase to over 13 million passengers annually by the time the fourth phase is completed.
The chief minister further revealed that five entities, including Airports Authority of India, GVK, GMR and Essel Infra – short-listed for the project – will be asked to give the ‘Request for Proposal’ to participate in the development of the airport by October-end.
The government, he said, is making an attempt to boost Goa as an aviation hub while also mentioning that Mopa cannot be ignored if tourism needs to grow in Goa.
“Tourism being the backbone of its economy, development of aviation amenities has paramount importance in the State,” he said. He added, “Tourism and aviation are complimentary to each other. If we want tourism to flourish in the State, the need of another airport at Mopa cannot be ignored. Therefore the government intends to complete the Mopa airport by 2019 for its successful operation, which will create multiplying impact on Goan economy.”
Union Minister of Aviation Ashok Ganapati Raju called upon stakeholders of the aviation sector to expand and reach out to various regions in the country to make aviation services affordable to people.
“Though there are challenges before the aviation sector, government intends that stakeholders of the aviation industry should build up regional connectivity by compromising the service taxes,” he told the gathering after inaugurating the summit.
