VASCO: The ‘bhoomi pujan’” and laying of foundation stone for Rs 255.69 crore Dabolim International Airport extension terminal project on Monday was a low key affair.
Speaking to the media persons, Dabolim Airport Director Gagan Malik said, “The extension of Dabolim terminal will improve the passenger handling capacity upto 13 million passengers a year.”
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Malik said, “Due to COVID-19 pandemic situation not many were invited. The work of this project has commenced from today.”
He said, “This extension will add 18,000 sq mts to the 65,000 sq mts area which will further improve the passenger handling capacity upto 13 million passengers annually.”
It may be recalled that December 4 last year, after the public hearing on the Dabolim Airport extension, Malik said, “The basic purpose of this extension is that there is a rapid growth in domestic passengers.”
“Extension is done to a small portion of 86 metres. We are going to extend just to make some internal changes in the terminal setup. As we know that domestic tourists are increasing, we want our domestic security hold to shift to a larger area and international security to be brought to a smaller area,” he explained.
The project time limit is 21 months although it is expected to be completed by June 2022.
Malik said, “The overall cost of this extension project is Rs 255.69 crore and specifically for construction of this extension (structure) is Rs 131 crore.”
