VASCO: Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra has said that the agency has plans to spend Rs 500 crore on providing facilities at the Dabolim airport thus making the airport a passenger-friendly one.
The new facilities include the much-awaited parallel taxi track, developing further passenger amenities and catering to more flights during peak hours.
Speaking to pressmen at the airport on Friday, along with airport director Bhupesh Chand Hans Negi and other officials of the AAI, Mohapatra said that the Dabolim airport is a gateway for the tourists in Goa, handling 6 million passengers with a movement of 160 aircraft per day. “Dabolim airport is considered to be the sixth topmost airport in India and hence it needs to be developed in order to have more passenger amenities,” said Mohapatra.
He said that the AAI and the naval authorities will sign a memorandum of understanding in order to have a parallel taxi track at the airport. “The parallel taxi track would be ready in another one and half year and the facility will be made available by razing down the old terminal building,” said Mohapatra adding that the AAI will construct three aprons and aero bridges at the old terminal building to meet the demand of the landing aircraft and also to start with the night parking bays.
“At present, the Dabolim airport is congested due to lack of space for the aircraft,” said Mohapatra stating that the AAI has, therefore, decided to provide further facilities by renovating the airport, providing toilets and escalator facilities, food court in the domestic security hold area, self-checking machines besides lot of other passenger-friendly facilities. He maintained that the Dabolim airport would continue to operate even after the commissioning of the Greenfield airport at Mopa in North Goa. “We would start concentrating on the short-term measures, which would give results in another two to three months,” said Mohapatra. He also said that the AAI has planned for short term, medium term and long-term measures to take the Dabolim airport to greater heights.
“The AAI would meet the requirements of the aircraft by providing lot more slots during the peak hours by maintaining discipline,” said Mohapatra adding that the AAI has given priority to the airport in Goa by focussing on rapid development, as Goa is considered to be one of the important tourist destinations in the country.
Speaking about the stalled multi-level car parking facility at the airport, Mohapatra said that the facility, which has been constructed in attachment with the new integrated terminal building, could not be commissioned due to security issue. “As per the new security Act, civil constructions within an area of 100 metres from the apron area are not allowed,” said Mohapatra adding that the new security Act applies to the multi-level car parking facility because of which the project failed to see the light of the day. “The AAI is trying for an early solution and seeing what best can be done to commission the multi-level car parking facility. Suggestion received from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been sent to an agency based in Bhopal,” said Mohapatra.