Mopa airport will be financially viable: CM

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2008-08-26
PANAJI- Observing that the proposed Mopa airport would be functionally and financially viable, the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat on Monday said that his government, while supporting the construction of the international Mopa airport, would also pursue the expansion and upgradation of the Dabolim airport.
“If required, I would lead a delegation to the Prime Minister as well as the ministry for civil aviation to seek immediate clearances for improving the Dabolim airport,” he assured the House.
He said, “The Union government has also agreed for the reversal of earlier cabinet decision, which had decided to shut down the Dabolim airport, once the Mopa airport is ready.”
The Chief Minister was replying to a related calling attention motion by the Curtorim MLA, Mr Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, which stated that the Dabolim airport can be upgraded into an international airport at a fraction of the cost required to construct the Mopa airport, with the government abandoning the Mopa airport project to save public money. He also quoted that the latest report of the International Civil Aviation Organisation had noted that the Mopa airport was financially non-viable.
The Chief Minister said the ICAO was only a consultative and recommending body, and the question of the ICAO clearing the proposal for the international Mopa airport does not arise.
“The government of Goa is the sole decision making authority in the context of the international airport at Mopa,” he added.
Speaking further, Mr Kamat said the state government, while realising the need for a new international airport at Mopa, has decided that the Dabolim airport should also co-exist. “It has been categorically stated, time and again that Dabolim airport will continue even after the commissioning of Mopa airport,” he pointed out.
“It is true that the Dabolim airport can be upgraded at a cost of about Rs 500 crore. In this regard, the work is already in progress and the government of Goa has been exerting constant pressure on the Airport Authority of India and the government of India to expedite work,” the Chief Minister said, mentioning, “However, the major bottleneck has been the reluctance on the part of the naval authorities to hand over possession of the additional 2.5 acres of land and the request for any additional land to expand the airport.”
Mr Kamat observed that his government, on its part has expressed commitment to the expansion of the Dabolim airport, by allotting 7 acres besides approving a proposal for acquisition of 4 acres of land.
“The report of ICAO is basically that an upgraded Dabolim airport requiring an expenditure of about Rs 500 crore for increasing the apron space (more parking slots for aircraft) and expansion of the passenger terminals and parallel taxiway, would serve the growing air passenger traffic in Goa for the next five to six years, after which, the Dabolim airport would face saturation owing to land constraints and no further scope for expansion,” the Chief Minister stated.
This is precisely the reason why an international airport at Mopa has been strongly recommended as a long-term solution for the economy and tourism of the state, he noted.
It was also informed that the Mopa international airport is being planned to cater to 20 million passengers over the next 25 to 30 years. The financial viability of the airport will depend to a large extent on the ownership and funding patterns based upon other models operating in the country, it was pointed out.
Meanwhile, the Public Works Department Minister, Mr Churchill Alemao, who tried to air his view on the issue, was silenced by the Speaker, Mr Pratapsingh Rane. “I am asking you to sit down or I’ll have to ask you to withdraw from the House,” said the Speaker, adding, “This is not a public platform.”