the goan I network
PANAJI
Responding to the concerns of legislators, Parrikar said that by the time Mopa Airport opens, Goa's air traffic would be around 10 million passengers per year and that the first phase of Mopa airport would have a capacity of only 4.4 million passengers per year.
"In another year Dabolim will be supersaturated. Dabolim will be fully operational (when Mopa opens) by statistics itself, even if we don't want to keep it open," Parrikar said.
He also said that the condition to keep both the airports open was a condition in the tender document or request for proposals (RFP) as it is known. It is written in the tender. You cannot change the terms of the tender. It will become a vigilance case if you close Dabolim," the chief minister said adding that it is perhaps the only case in India where Navy has approved another airport within a radius of 70 km.
"Don't get worried about Dabolim closing," Parrikar said adding that Dabolim was currently handling traffic of nearly seven million passengers per year and that slots were not available especially for charter aircraft and the like.
"Currently the Navy has three and a half hours slot. They actually need more but we have reduced it to accommodate civilian aircrafts. Soon after the aircraft carrier comes here they will need at least five and a half hours," Parrikar said.
Earlier, Luizinho Faleiro had pointed out that in several other cities including Kochi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai the old airports were shut down after the new airport started despite there being assurances that they won't.
Responding, Parrikar said that those airports had clauses in their agreements that the old airport would be shut down which is why they were shut. Parrikar also
assured that the AAI was constructing a parallel taxiway as well as increase the number of parking bays.
"Are they spending Rs 150 crore on a parallel taxiway only for two years? They are not mad," Parrikar said.
‘More aircraft carriers to man nation's waters'
PANAJI: India could have aircraft carriers, two on the west and one in the east former Defence Minister and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said.
Speaking of the need to allow the Navy more time to use the Dabolim airport, Parrikar said that the Navy had no other option on the Western front.
"I have already checked, at Karwar they do not have a strip to build a runway so the aircraft cannot be accommodated there. The Navy is planning to get more aircrafts as well as replace the existing aircraft. They need to be accommodated," Parrikar said.
"...because it is a defence airport, (there is a) naval requirement. There are two aircraft carriers which will be placed on the Western side and the third one may be on the eastern sea coast. These two together, require around 100 aircrafts, either stationed on the aircraft carrier or stationed in the base and Goa is their base,"CM said.
"When the next naval aircraft carrier arrives, naval planes will fly for an hour and a half to two hours (more)," Parrikar said.
