Goa to be developed as cargo hub: Suresh Prabhu
18 Apr 2018
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The centre in the collaboration with state government and private partners is working on programme to promote Goa both as a tourism destination as well as a cargo hub, union minister for civil aviation Suresh Prabhu said on Tuesday.
Addressing media persons at Dabolim Airport, after the inspection of ongoing renovation work at the Mopa Airport, the minister said the Mopa Airport will commence operations by September 2020, adding that the Dabolim Airport will continue to remain operational along with Mopa said.
Dabolim Airport is undergoing a major renovation work, involving an expenditure of Rs300 crore and this work is expected to get over by July, when a new multi-layer parking complex will be operationalised.
Dabolim Airport will also have one special counter for Goa Tourism Department to operate taxi services and one counter for the state government for sale of local products, souvenirs, and vegetables.
Transportation of cargo will help farmers access international market, said Prabhu. When Goa will have two airports passenger handling capacity will increase to 30 million, he further added.
He said the civil aviation ministry is in talks with representatives of World Bank and other major institutions to promote Goa as a market destination. Major airlines like Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa Airlines are interested to be part of market destinations in India, he said.
Besides, he said the government is undertaking programmes for skill development in cooperation with airline as there is a huge job requirement in civil aviation sector and related sectors also. These initiatives are imperative in the overall development of the state, he added.
