AMN / WEB DESK
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Mopa International Airport in Goa. The new airport will further boost the air connectivity in the country. The new Goa airport will also enhance tourism in the state.
Congratulating the Goans for the new airport the Prime Minister said that he would repay in return with interest the love and blessings given by the people of Goa by making development. The modern airport is part of that development, he added. He said, he is very happy that the airport is named after the beloved Chief Minister of Goans late Manohar Parrikar.
The resources that people needed were neglected in the previous few years. The demand for another airport in Goa has been pending for a long time. Surpassing many challenges Government did it, he said. 40 lakhs passengers will commute annually through the airport. The target is to increase this number to 3.5 crores in the near future. Modi said the airport would be of immense benefit to tourism in Goa.
Prime Minister Modi said there were only about 70 airports in the country earlier but our government is focused on connectivity in smaller places and about 72 new airports were built in the last eight years.
Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant also spoke on the occasion.
Developed at the cost of Rs. 2,870 cr, the airport is located at Pernem Taluka in North Goa which is approximately 35 km from the capital city of Panjim. It is accessible from NH66 which runs north-south through Goa and connects along the coastline to Panvel near Mumbai to the north, and Edapalli in Kerala to the south.
The existing airport at Goa which is a civil enclave for which a terminal building is maintained by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), is a defence airport belonging to the Indian Navy.