My two recent letters on Mopa Airport that appeared on the edit page of the Herald dated April 8, 2017 and July 13, 2017 provides good response to the Concession Agreement dated November 8, 2016. The independent institutional project Authority has not been defined in the Concession Agreement dated November 8, 2016.
Also, according to page 51 of the concession agreement dated November 8, 2016, the appointed BOT Contractor can implement any design without waiting for the approval of the undefined Project Authority. If at a later stage, it is realised that the design parameters are not in order, the BOT contractor who was not ranked for the design tasks at the selection process can escape. Also, the sub-contractor with design project experiences to be selected at a later stage by the BOT Contractor (based on the presently unknown master plan) had not been ranked by an independent institutional Authority. So this sub-contractor can also escape. Then who will be responsible? Can we allow the construction of the massive Mopa Airport to start based on faulty tender process that was completed nearly one year ago in a hurry, without an independent institutional Authority?
What are the pre-construction stage activities going on for the Mopa airport project? Are these pre-construction stage activities linked to site clearances, master plan and design of the airport development project? Or are these pre-construction stage activities of the project linked to another hidden Concession Agreement of the BOT Contractor? Was this concession agreement signed on September 21, 2016?
Mopa Airport viability is closely linked to the hidden KPMG work in Goa as a financial or transaction advisory services consultant on unsustainable projects, covering the investment policy/investment promotion board, tourism policy/tourism master plan, multi-mode/ multi-modal transportation networks and hubs, National waterways under Captain of Ports, Mormugao Port Trust /Inland Waterways Authority of India and information technology policy with hidden electronic manufacturing clusters/hubs.
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects have been rejected in Goa. However, serious attempts are being made to designate National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ) in the tiny State of Goa with transportation linkages from the investment nodes to the proposed Bengaluru to Mumbai industrial/investment/economic corridor that passes through the States of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Unsustainable cargo and passenger transportation connectivity and commercial projects are required to implement the business development plans, for the viability of the massive Mopa Airport. These hidden projects are going to destroy the peaceful eco-sensitive villages of the tiny State of Goa and the existing bio diversity and perennial river systems of the surrounding Western Ghats, covering the three states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Can we allow this to happen?
