The Dabolim airport in Goa will continue to handle civilian traffic even after the Mopa airport becomes operational in 2020, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the state assembly on Wednesday.
Dabolim International Airport is a military facility operating from an Indian Navy base in south Goa.
Parrikar was replying to a question by Congress MLA Francisco Silveira about whether the civilian enclave at Dabolim will continue to function after the commissioning of the Mopa International Airport in north Goa.
The Chief Minister said that an official letter from the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2010 “has communicated approval for continuation of civilian operations at Dabolim civil aviation enclave, even after the commissioning of the new international airport at Mopa”.
Parrikar, who is also the state minister for civil aviation, said that the first phase of the Mopa greenfield project would be commissioned by September 2020.
“GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL) has already started pre-construction work,” Parrikar told the assembly in a written reply during the ongoing winter session.