With Goa’s Dabolim international airport reaching a saturation point, the Goa government is now gearing up to approach the ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) with the second feasibility report submitted recently by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on the proposed new international airport at Mopa in North Goa.
The state government has already received the feasibility report that suggests viability of two airports in Goa.
An official informed Business Standard that the Goa government will certainly go ahead with the plan to set up the international airport at Mopa and will approach the ministry by May-end. This comes following a statement made by Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel criticising the state government’s lethargy on the new airport project.
The ministry aims to create more airports in the country. However, Goa has an issue about keeping the old airport in Dabolim operational, while the work on the new airport and land acquisition has been kept in abeyance. “The new airport will give Goa major fillip to its tourism industry,” said Patel.
The second feasibility report, according to the official has been prepared with Airbus A-380 as the model aircraft under its master plan for the airport, which means the runway width will be more than any of the existing airports across the country.
“The ICAO was asked to prepare the second feasibility report in 2006 by the state government as the Mopa International Airport Project had run into controversy in 2005 and kept in abeyance following objections raised by some political parties,” he said.
Goa had a mere 18-20 flights a day five years ago. With the tourism industry growing, the flights now have increased to 35. During the tourist season, the airport gets five-eight charter flights every day.
The Mopa airport project has suffered severely due to differences between the state politicians. Key politicians from the south Goa district have repeatedly opposed the Mopa airport, since it is far away from south Goa’s tourist attractions.
“The location of Mopa is suitable for the large-scale project that Goa wishes to launch, which will also benefit towns and cities such as Sangli, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur in Maharashtra and Belgaum, Hubli, Karwar and Dharwad in Karnataka,” maintained Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, while confirming the government’s stand on the Mopa project.
The ICAO’s report stated that the airport being planned at Sindhudurg by the Maharashtra government is small and would only cater to domestic airlines.
Goa is projected to receive around 6.5 million passengers over the next two decades and the Mopa airport plan proposes to create facility to cater to around 10 million passengers. The suggested timeline for the completion of the first phase with a single runway is 2014.
Under the first phase, around 51 lakh sq mt of land has already been acquired by the Goa government and it will be purchasing another 23.71 lakh sq mt in the second phase. The $450 million plus Mopa international airport project will be on the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.
The Greenfield airport policy works on the principle that 74 per cent stake will be held by a private consortium, which will build and operate the facility.
The state will provide the land, air navigation services and other related concessions. It will have 26 per cent stake with central government holding 13 per cent through the AAI.
The airport terminal at Mopa will be designed on the basis of international check-in process time, which is about three minutes in total. The initial plan of the ICAO for the Mopa international airport will ensure fixed aerobridges to cater to all aircraft.
“Once this is approved by the ministry, a detailed study to look into different elements of the project will have to be commissioned and a funding pattern will be agreed upon,” the official pointed out.
The ICAO has also proposed to have nearly 20,000 sq mt of land allocated for parking 40 different types of aircraft. Besides, the airport will have an area of 15,000 sq mt earmarked for business – duty free shops, malls and other facilities.
“Unlike any other airport in the country, a separate area for helicopters has been suggested to ensure that their movements don’t interrupt regular air traffic. Hangars for four choppers have also been recommended,” the official informed.
The chief minister also pointed out that the state government had carried out an aerial survey to connect the proposed Mopa airport to the six-lane expressway connecting Maharashtra and Karnataka for which work will commence soon.
Besides, the state government will also consult Konkan Railways to have a rail route connecting the Mopa airport to the existing Mumbai-Ernakulam line.
Courtesy: Business Standard
