TEAM HERALD
VASCO: Projects undertaken by government authorities are rarely completed on time, but the new terminal of Dabolim airport is expected to be inaugurated ahead of schedule since work on it is nearly complete.
Airport authorities hope to commission the new terminal of Dabolim airport by mid-August, ahead of the proposed date of September 8, Dabolim Airport Director M Suresh told Herald.
“As per the MOU signed by the Civil Aviation ministry and Airports Authority of India (AAI), the new Dabolim airport terminal was to be commissioned on September 8. However, we are trying to inaugurate the new terminal by mid-August,” added Suresh.
When asked to justify the decision to advance the inauguration of the new terminal, Suresh said: “Most of the work is complete and while the internal work is in progress, we are awaiting for the arrival of the aerobridges (an enclosed, movable connector which extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane allowing passengers to board and disembark without going outside).”
“Four aerobridges by PT Bukaka Teknik Utama from Indonesia arrived at the Mumbai Port on June 30 and after completing all customs formalities, these will arrive at Dabolim airport by July 30. Once the aerobridges are installed and we are satisfied with their operation, we will be in a position to inaugurate the new airport terminal,” informed Suresh.
Commenting on the number of flights and passengers arriving at Dabolim airport, Suresh said the Dabolim airport had handled 27,690 aircraft, including 1,032 charter flights and a total of 35,44,359 passengers during the 2012-13 season.
“We hope to handle more than 32,000 flights for the forthcoming 2013-14 season,” he added.
