Mopa airport witnesses completion of over 75% airport project

Director of Goa Civil Aviation, Sunil Shanbhogue, told the media that more than 75% of the work on the international greenfield airport at Mopa has been completed, including the completion of runways.

He said that the work on connectivity from the runway to the passenger terminal is underway.

He added that the technical building has already been handed over to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and will hand over the air traffic control (ATC) building next week. The installation of equipment at the technical building will begin soon.

GMR Airports Limited, through its subsidiary, Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), is recruiting airport rescues, firefighting and baggage screening to Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad for training.

The state government has targeted inaugurating the airport at the hands of PM Narendra Modi on 15 August.

The total project cost has increased to Rs 2,615 crore because of delays due to judicial proceedings and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the concession agreement, GGIAL can operate the business for 40 years, extendable by another 20 years. The airport project will be carried out in four phases. The construction of the second phase will commence only after 80% of the passenger traffic is handled.

The government had given in-principle approval for constructing an 8 km highway from Dhargalim to Varconda.

The project had been stalled by court proceedings, including judicial stay orders, due to environmental issues. In 2020, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the project’s environmental clearance (EC) and allowed construction to resume.

According to an official, after the infrastructure is ready, it takes around six months to ensure all the necessary permissions and clearances from authorities to begin operations.

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