Says CM doing so to give back-door entry to Mopa
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Congratulating the UPA government for tripling the passenger handling capacity of Goa’s Dabolim airport to 9.5 million passengers per year, CLP spokesman Reginaldo Lourenco has accused the Parrikar government for meting step motherly treatment to the Dabolim airport to give back-door entry to an “unviable” Mopa project.
Addressing the media on the eve of the launching of the new airport terminal, Reginaldo said the Navy has promised to give Goans additional land admeasuring 50 acres for a parallel taxi-way. He further said that efforts are on to get 12-acre additional land for apron parking on the east side of the terminal to ensure that Dabolim becomes the best airport in India.
The CLP spokesman denounced the Parrikar government for its failure to provide 36,000 sq mts of land for city-side facilities (cargo terminal, support functions and vehicle parking) in land with Survey No 8/1 situated adjacent to the airport. “Now the airport area in the central government domain is spacious, orderly and free flowing. Have you seen the chaos outside the airport in Goa government domain? When the Navy can give land for aircraft parking inside, why can’t Goa government give land for car parking outside? Parrikar government has been giving step-motherly treatment to Dabolim so as to give a back door entry to an unviable Mopa project”, he asserted.
Reginaldo said though practical capacity of the new terminal is 12 million passengers per year, it will be able to handle 18 million passengers per year. “With ease, it can handle 12 million. I also have with me plans to bring about improvements in future to de-congest the flow of passengers. With another Rs 50 crore, the terminal capacity will be increased to 18 million passengers per year if required”, he added.
