Source: The Times of India Goa September 27, 2013
'Mopa airport tender by end-2013'
PANAJI: Anil Srivastava, joint secretary, ministry of civil aviation, announced the central government's plans to construct 50-60 low-cost Greenfield airports in smaller towns across India.
He was speaking at the Aviation ICT Forum, organized by CAPA (Center for Aviation, APAC) and aviation IT and communications company, SITA, in Panaji on Thursday.
Drawing a parallel to the proliferation of mobile service networks in every corner of the nation, Srivastava said it was the central ministry's vision to provide better connectivity in remote areas.
The Greenfield airport at Mopa also seems to be high on the priority list of India's airport modernization programme.
The annual report by CAPA states that two Greenfield airport tenders are expected to proceed by the end of 2013, namely Goa's Mopa airport and a second Mumbai airport at Navi Mumbai.
"The 50-odd low-cost airports will be developed primarily in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. There are 18 Greenfield airports that have received in-principle approval, in addition to which a major facility is to be developed at Pune, for which a site has been identiofied," the report stated.
