PANAJI
Commercial operations at the greenfield Mopa airport are likely to take-off from January 5 next year even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to take an onsite tour before formally inaugurating it on December 11.
Announcing this at a press conference, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant however skirted the controversy over what name the airport will be christened with even as a debate is raging in some quarters between the names of two former chief ministers of the State -- Dayanand Bandodkar and Manohar Parrikar.
Sawant said the Union Civil Aviation Ministry will give the new airport its name.
"We are in discussion with the Civil Aviation Ministry on the matter," is all Sawant said when asked if it was true that the State government has recommended the name of his mentor and predecessor Manohar Parrikar for the airport.
Meanwhile, on the question of the long-term fate of commercial civil operations at the current, Navy-controlled Dabolim airport, Sawant said both the airports will remain in operation and the issue of dividing flights between the two will be decided by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry.
Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, IAS, who accompanied Sawant at the press conference, said the Mopa airport whose phase-I is complete will have a capacity to cater to 44 lakh passenger annually, nearly half the capacity of the Dabolim airport.
The airport, being built by the concessionaire GMR Airports, has been provisioned to expand and handle up to 3-crore passengers per year on completion of all phases.
A total area of 2,312 acres of land, which is the contribution of the State government, has been utilized for the airport.
Goel said, the current airport at Dabolim handles up to 85 lakh passengers annually and the infrastructure there can be expanded to increase it to up to one crore passengers per year.
As of now, the Dabolim airport has connectivity with 50 domestic locations, Goel said, adding that air link with 20 new domestic locations will be added at Mopa.
As for direct air-links to international airports, Goel said Dabolim currently caters to six International airports. Twelve additional international links will be established at Mopa he added.
Meanwhile, the Mopa airport will also cater to cargo movement with a capacity to handle up to 25,000 metric tonnes per year in the first phase.
GMR Goa International Airport Limited has the concession to operate the facility for 40 years, which is extendable for another 20 years on a 36.99 % revenue sharing basis.
