PORVORIM: The Goa Assembly on Monday witnessed heated debate over the future of Dabolim international airport following decline in passenger traffic even as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant reiterated that the Dabolim airport will not shut and that both airports will co-exist in the State.
Replying to a starred question tabled by Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco regarding reasons behind the decline in the overall flight movement and passenger traffic at the Dabolim airport, Sawant said that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has made additional investment to the tune of over Rs 500 crore on the infrastructure at the Dabolim airport to facilitate commercial operations and ruled out apprehensions that the Dabolim airport would be closed for civilian operations.
On concerns raised by members over the Indian Navy being pressured to take over Dabolim airport through the Central government and to stop commercial flights from there, the Chief Minister asserted that it is impossible for a private company to put such pressures on Navy or the Centre. The Union Cabinet has approved a decision to the effect that Dabolim airport will be continued to be used for commercial operations, he claimed. “Navy has had a base in Goa for the last 60 years, we cannot tell them to shift,” he said.
Regarding Manohar International Airport at Mopa, Sawant told Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai that revenue to the State government from operation of the new airport is scheduled to commence from May 2024.
As per Concession Agreement with the GMR Goa International Airport, the company will start sharing 36.6 per cent of its gross revenue from the Mopa airport operations with the Goa government from May this year.
Since the Dabolim Airport is owned and operated by the AAI, the State government is not entitled for any revenue from the operation of Dabolim airport.
The members demanded that the government should immediately take up with the Government of India the issue of decline in passengers at the Dabolim airport since the commissioning
of Mopa Airport, Sawant said that not only him,
but three Chief Ministers before him had assured the House that commercial operations will continue at Dabolim airport.
Sardesai pointed out that the number of flight operations at the Dabolim airport had dropped from 100 to 60 flights per day while, the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority of India had increased the user development fee by 575 per cent at Dabolim airport. Alleging that it was a game plan to shut Dabolim airport, he demanded that the levy of user development fee at both the airports be same.