Team Herald
PANJIM: Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) has confirmed that GMR Airports Limited (GAL) has accepted the letter of award for the construction of the Mopa International Airport.
“We have received the scanned copy via email. GMR has accepted the letter of award issued by the Goa Government and now within 45 days from acceptance date, GMR has to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), only after which the Goa government will go ahead and sign the concession agreement with the GMR,” Civil Aviation Director Suresh Shanbhogue said.
He added that GMR will get six months after Goa Government signs the concession agreement to raise funds for the construction of the airport.
“Once the bidder finalises their financial closure, they will have to come to the State government and only after accepting the financial closure, the land will be allotted to the company for constructing the airport,” Shanbhogue said.
He added that the estimated cost of the airport would be around Rs 4500 crore and the concession period for the airport will be 40 years that can be extended to another 20 years. He said that the project will be taken under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model.
GMR was announced as the successful bidder for the airport construction on August 26 last month. The first phase of the airport is expected to be completed by 2020.
