PANAJI
Goa’s industrial houses are hoping that the new Manohar International Airport at Mopa will drive Goa’s push to become a multi-modal transportation and logistics hub due to its state-of-the-art cargo terminal and allied facilities.
“By the end of this year, there should be a dedicated international cargo flight taking off from Mopa daily,” said Anthony Gaskell, Mentor, of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Panel on Logistics, even as he admitted that the lack of a container handling berth or infrastructure at the Mormugao port was disappointing for Goa’s quest to become a multi-modal logistics hub.
Gaskell was speaking at a press conference to unveil the logo and programme of the ninth edition of the ‘CII Logistics Conference,’ scheduled for next Friday in a city hotel where top industry honchos and bureaucrats are expected to attend.
Gaskell said, the Mormugao port doesn’t even have a functioning crane and moving containers through the sea route from here has been suffering. He nonetheless said the cargo terminal at Mopa and its support facilities were comparable globally.
Titled “Unlocking Trade Potential through Multimodal Logistics” the conference hopes to give the logistics sector in Goa a leg up.
Gaskell, said, logistics is a pivotal sector which could potentially drive the economy and create jobs and the conference is a significant step towards realizing Goa’s vision to become a multimodal logistics hub in the region owing to its strategic location and connectivity.
