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The upcoming greenfield airport in Mopa will be inaugurated soon, with a tentative date of 11 December 2022, post receiving confirmation from the Prime Minister Office (PMO). The Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant made the announcement yesterday and said that GMR Group – which is already successfully operating airports in Delhi and Hyderabad – will be operating the Mopa International Airport as well.
According to a statement by GMR, only domestic flights would be operated immediately after inauguration in December, while international services will take off and land from January 2023 onwards.
The airport also received the Aerodrome Licence from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of the Union Ministry, last month.
The Mopa International Airport is being developed by GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the GMR Group. It is being built at a cost of INR 3,000 crore (USD 380 million), under the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) model in four phases, with the first phase costing a total of INR 1,500 crore (USD 190 million).
Goa’s current airport at Dabolim is a civil enclave operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at a military airfield which is owned by the Indian Navy. Civilian and military operations share a common runway, resulting in severe airside congestion.
GMR Airports’ cargo division is creating infrastructure and ground facilities at the Mopa International Airport to encourage cargo operations. They plan to shift the cargo that is currently being transported by road to Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai onto air freighters from the first quarter of 2023, thereby, integrating the new Mopa International Airport with the seven other major airports where air cargo is handled.
The GGIAL also has plans to set up a logistics park on the 232 acres of commercial land available at Mopa.
