The first director of the Dabolim Airport, Mr R S Bhagwat has expressed concern over the delay in land acquisition process for expansion of the airport. If the state government makes no effort to follow up the issue with the Union government before the general parliamentary elections then the augmentation of the only Goan airport will be further delayed, observed Mr Bhagwat.
Speaking to The Navhind Times, Mr Bhagwat, a quality consultant on air travel, who has served as the industry expert for airport audits under international standards ISO 9001: 2000, by virtue of his long posting at the Dabolim airport is well conversant with the traffic trends, limitations and requirements for augmentation. Mr Bhagwat informed that the Dabolim airport is the seventh largest airport in India and the air traffic at the airport has grown manifold since the last expansion in the year 1996-97. He gave examples of some airports like Mysore, Nagpur, Surat and Gondia, which cater to a lesser number of passengers but have invested generously on augmentation in the last few years.
Goa which got nearly 2.6 million passengers last year, has not got a single augmentation scheme except the expansion of the airport parking bays to accommodate three more aircrafts. This dissynchronised expansion has led to more congestion as more aircrafts are to be accommodated with no increase in the capacity of the terminal building, stated Mr Bhagwat.
Dabolim airport immediately needs a new integrated terminal building that can handle around 4,000 passengers an hour, a parallel taxi track to relieve runway congestion as only one runway is there, observed Mr Bhagwat.
He informed that airport expansion in Goa has not been given due priority and the land acquisition process has been proceeding at a snails pace for years thereby delaying the expansion. The foundation stone-laying ceremony has been postponed twice owing to election model code of conduct. This time too with the elections round the corner, the Dabolim airport may miss the bus and the badly needed augmentation will be further delayed, observed Mr Bhagwat.
He stressed the need for the state government to pursue the issue with the Centre on a priority basis to ensure that the work on the new international terminal building can commence without further delay. He feared that, if the expansion plan of the Dabolim airport was delayed then the tourism-driven economy of the state will be badly affected. There are also chances of suspension of airline services including those of the chartered airlines flight, he said. He also informed that about 92 per cent of charter flights land in Goa and that Goa has been a gateway for the charter flights and foreign tourists to India.
Mr Bhagwat also recalled that the central government has sanctioned Rs 500 crore for the expansion of Dabolim airport, however the funds are not yet utilised. He tried to draw parallels between the Goa and Karnataka governments as the neighbouring state had offered considerable land of 400 acres for the construction of airport at Belgaum. This he said has made it clear that the Karnataka government is keen on development of the state. He requested the Goa government to follow the footsteps of Karnataka government and to give priority to the expansion of Dabolim airport.
-Navhind Times, Goa Daily
