New Delhi: After the inauguration of the Mopa International Airport of Goa, to be done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, India will have 140 operational airports. The number has doubled after Modi-led BJP took over rule in 2014, PTI reported citing sources.
Sources added that government has plans to develop and operate 220 airports in the next five years.
PM Modi inaugurated greenfield Donyi Polo Airport at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh in November, Deoghar Airport in July, laid the foundation stone of the Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, in November last year and inaugurated Kushinagar International Airport, a famous Buddhist site, in October last year.
Further, the foundation stone for Mopa was laid in November 2016 by the PM. It is the second airport in Goa after the one in Dabolim. The Mopa airport offers several upgrades over the one in Dabolim, PTI was told.
Dabolim's current passenger handling capacity is 8.5 MPPA (million passengers per annum). This will reach 13 MPPA after Mopa becomes operational. Also, the airports in Goa have the potential to increase their capacity from around 10.5 to 43.5 MPPA, officials said.
Dabolim offers direct connections with 15 domestic and six international locations, the addition of Mopa will increase it to 35 domestic and 18 international.
Mopa has night parking facilities, which are not there in Dabolim. The former also has a cargo terminal with a capacity of 25,000 MT.
PM Modi has laid a strong emphasis on boosting connectivity and led this initiative from the front, inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of various airports, the sources told Press Trust of India.