PANAJI
Considering the Covid pandemic in 2020, the State Cabinet on Thursday granted an extension to GMR International to pay the State’s gross revenue from Manohar International Airport (MIA) at Mopa. The revenue share of 36.99 per cent would now be payable from December 7 onwards instead of the earlier date of May 31 as per the concession agreement.
The decision was taken during the Cabinet meeting on Thursday wherein Chief Minister Pramod Sawant refuted Opposition allegations regarding revenue sharing between GMR and the government.
“Goa government’s share of 36.99% of the gross revenue from MIA will be payable from December 7, 2024. The delay is due to the petition before the Supreme Court and previously due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected overall operations,” he told reporters after the meeting.
In November 2016, the State government entered into an agreement with GMR Goa International Airport for the construction and development of a greenfield airport on a PPP basis. The airport is to be developed in four phases with a design capacity of 4.4 million passengers per annum (mppa) in Phase I, and 5.8 mppa, 9.4 mppa, and 13.1 mppa in Phase II, Phase III, and Phase IV, respectively.
In 2020, the Cabinet granted an extension of 634 days for the development of MIA due to restraints imposed by the High Court, National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court. The revised date for payment of the annual premium/concession fee was set to May 31, 2024, with an overall 'revised concession period' set on May 30, 2059.
The government also sought an opinion from Advocate General Devidas Pangam, who opined that an extension of the date of commencement of annual premium of 180 days may be granted.
“It is reasonable to construe this Concession Agreement to mean that the period accepted by the government as having been covered by a Force Majeure Event which prevented the Concessionaire (GMR)from performance of its obligation to complete the project and achieve the COD, would require to be added and consequently the date fixed for the commencement of annual premium will be have to extended/revised for such period of time,” it had noted, followed by the matter placed before Cabinet for resolution.
