The international airport in Mopa in Goa will be inaugurated after December 8 depending on the schedule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after inspecting the facility, the CM said it was 95 per cent complete and the remaining work would be finished in the next 15 days. "The date for commissioning of the airport will be decided depending on the availability of the Prime Minister. Tentatively, it would be inaugurated after December 8. The arrival and departure areas, baggage facility etc are ready. The airport has also received licence for its aerodrome," Sawant informed.


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An official of GMR, which would be running the airport, said 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 has the capacity to handle 4.4 million footfalls annually. This will be increased depending on demand. We have also installed a 25,000 ton Temparature Control Facility at the airport to handle pharma, fruits, floriculture, horticulture items etc," the official added.


Earlier, General (Retd) VK Singh, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, stated that the Central government has no plans to close the current airport in Goa. The minister further emphasised that the Goa Dabolim airport will run concurrently with the state's brand-new airport. VK Singh made the comments at the CANSO conference in Goa, which was organised by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).


The Goa International Airport is an under-construction greenfield airport that is being built at Mopa in Pernem taluka of the North Goa district. GMR Goa International Airport Limited is currently developing the airport with a cost amount of around Rs 3,000 crore.


With agencies inputs