Mopa would survive on cargo, not passengers alone
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 19 July 2012 13:57 IST
Proposed Mopa air port can survive only with a cargo hub and not passengers alone, if Dabolim air port is also kept operational, the government has made it clear.
The Mopa air port would take minimum three years to come up if things go as per the plan.
This was disclosed by chief minister Manohar Parrikar in the Assembly today.
“Mopa would work on a hub concept and it would handle wide body passenger aircrafts”, Parrikar informed, while replying to the question raised by Valpoi MLA Vishwajeet Rane.
According to Parrikar, Mopa would attract especially the cargo of agricultural produce from around one lakh square kilometers of area that include places like Hubli, Kolhapur, Satara etc.
The state government has presently acquired 2037 acres of land on Mopa pleateau for the new air port.
Vishwajeet however demanded that more land around Mopa be frozen, keeping in mind the future expansion of the air port.
The chief minister said the present acquisition is meant only for a terminal and the government requires more land for allied activities.
However, he accepted the demand made by Vishwajeet to freeze the land also for air port expansion.
“But I would do it only after new land policy is made, where land owners would be paid a market price for the land”, said Parrikar.
He said the government does not want to tax the people by acquiring land unnecessarily.
He also made it clear that no land would be acquired without proper plan and requirement.
