New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA has given the aerodrome license for the new airport at Mopa in Goa, paving the way for starting commercial flights operations from there soon. The license for the Mopa airport, which will be operated by GMR group, was issued on October 26, according to a senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). After the commissioning of the Mopa airport, the number of flights landing in Goa will go up to 150, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said in July this year.
GMR Airports Ltd (GAL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, had in November 2016 signed a concession agreement with the Goa government to develop and operate greenfield international airport project at Mopa. GMR Goa International Airport is developing the project, which is based on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis.
This will be the second airport in Goa, where there is an operational airport at Dabolim in Mormugao city. The new airport will be built 35 kilometres away from Panjim in the northern part of Goa.
The Mopa airport is being constructed in four phases with an annual passenger capacity of 4.4 million in phase I and it will increase to 5.8 million in phase II.
In phase III, the capacity will rise to 9.4 million passengers per annum and once phase IV is also complete, the total capacity will be at 13.1 million passengers per annum.
In September, the operator completed the landing trials for both approaches.
At present, only 70 flights land at the Dabolim airport on a daily basis. No landing is permitted from 9 am to 2 pm at the facility.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)