New Goa International Airport , also known as Mopa International Airport and officially renamed as Manohar International Airport, is an international airport at Mopa in

Pernem Pernem or Pedne (pronounced ) is a town and a municipal council in North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. It is the capital of the Pernem Sub-District Geography Pernem is one of the twelve sub-districts of Goa. Pernem sub-district ...

taluka,

North Goa district North Goa district is one of the two districts that constitutes the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of , and is bounded by Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra state to the north and by Belgavi district of Karnataka ...

in the state of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It serves North Goa and the adjoining districts of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

and Maharashtra, and as a second airport of Goa after

Dabolim Airport Dabolim Airport is an international airport in Dabolim, Goa, India. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India as a civil enclave in an Indian Navy naval airbase named INS Hansa. The airport is located in Dabolim, 4 kilometers ...

Dabolim Dabolim is a village, with a total population of around 6700, in Mormugão, Goa, India. It is located about 30 km from the state capital Panjim, 23 km from the South Goa district headquarters Margão and 5 kilometres from Vas ...

. The airport is developed by GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV). It is built at a cost of . The airport is built under the

Build Operate Transfer Build may refer to: * Engineering something * Construction * Physical body stature, especially muscle size; usually of the human body * Build (game engine), a 1995 first-person shooter engine * "Build" (song), a 1987 song by The Housemartins * ...

(BOT) model in four phases, with the first phase costing a total of . It is named after the former

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and the former Chief Minister of Goa,

Manohar Parrikar Manohar Parrikar (born Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar; 13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party who served as Chief Minister of Goa from 14 March 2017 until his death. Previous ...

. It was expected to be completed by the financial year 2019–2020, but was delayed due to a Supreme Court order that impeded work on site, and also due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, which caused lockdowns, restrictions, and curfews, resulting in lack of labor and delays in construction. The airport was completed and opened on 11 December 2022, with operations starting from 5 January 2023 with the first flight operated by

IndiGo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

. The concession period for the greenfield project is 40 years with a possible extension of another 20 years through a bid process. The airport will cater to 4.4 million passengers in the first phase and 13.1 million by the end of the fourth phase. The airport will operate on a hybrid model with 30% cross-subsidy, and the concession offers 232 acres of land for commercial city-side development for a period of 60 years.

History

's current airport at

is a

civil enclave A joint-use airport is an aerodrome that is used for both military aviation and civil aviation. They typically contain facilities of both a civil airport and a military air base. By country United States The United States has several joint-use ...

operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at a military airfield, owned by the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. Civilian and military operations share a common runway, resulting in severe airside congestion. This deters the long-term growth of civilian traffic at the airport. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee's flagship project. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

had given its in-principle approval for a second airport in the state of Goa as early as March 2000. However, the project was stuck for 14 years due to land acquisition issues and local litigation. The ICAO's techno-economic feasibility report submitted in 2013, that projected air traffic of 10 million passengers at Goa by 2035, eventually established the feasibility of the Mopa project. The Goa Government issued a Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the project in October 2014. Five bidders,

GMR Group GMR Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in New Delhi. The group was founded in 1978 by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (G M Rao) and comprises several companies including GMR Infrastructure, GMR Energy, GMR Airports, GMR En ...

GVK Group GVK Industries Limited Trade name, d/b/a GVK Group is an Indian conglomerate stretching across assorted sectors comprising energy, resources, airports and transportation. Having already invested over , GVK Group has projects in pipeline worth ...

, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Essel Infra and Voluptas developers evinced interest. Essel Infra partnered with

Zurich Airport Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switzerland's la ...

s, and Voluptas Developers, which belongs to the

Hiranandani Group Hiranandani Group was established in 1978 by Niranjan Hiranandani and Surendra Hiranandani and is based in Mumbai, India. The group is one of the largest real estate developers in India with projects across Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderab ...

tied-up with

Vinci Airports Vinci (corporately styled VINCI) is a French concessions and construction company founded in 1899 as Société Générale d'Enterprises. Its head office is in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris. Vinci is listed on Euronext's Paris stock ...

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, to bid for the airport project. On October 28, 2015, the

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is an Indian government ministry. This ministry is headed by Secretary Rank senior most IAS officer. The ministry portfolio is currently held by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister ...

granted environment clearance to the project. The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the project were issued in January 2016, seeking bids from interested companies to construct the airport. Two of the five companies that responded to the RFQ decided not to participate in the RFP. The bids were opened in August 2016. GMR Airports Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited won the competitive bid to develop and operate the airport. The Airports Authority of India emerged as the second highest bidder followed by the consortium of Essel Infra-Incheon. In October, GMR Airports Limited formed the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL) to raise funds for, design, construct, and run the project. GMR Airports Ltd signed a concession agreement with the Government of Goa on 8 November 2016. In 2016, the State Government proposed to establish an Aviation Skill Development centre in order to provide employment opportunities at the airport to local youth. The concessionaire would be required to give preference to bona-fide Goans for all jobs at the airport. This Aviation Skill Development Centre was initially to be set up by the concessionaire either at the Pernem ITI campus or any other ITI centre. However, in 2020, the location of the proposed centre was shifted to the airport premises itself.

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

laid the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

of the project on 13 November 2016. In January 2017, the Goa Government declared an area within five km² radius of the airport as 'Mopa International Airport planning area' for the purpose of regulating growth near the project area. GGIAL and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

on 31 March 2017 for necessary support from the centre to develop the airport. The master plan of the airport was also reviewed and approved by

Engineers India Engineers India Limited (EIL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government ...

through a separate contract earlier in 2017. GGIAL invited tenders for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract in June 2017, which was awarded to

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

-based

Megawide Construction Corporation Megawide Construction Corporation () is a Philippine conglomerate, founded in 1997 as a mid-size construction firm by civil engineers Edgar Saavedra and Michael Cosiquien in Quezon City, Philippines. In 2004, the company grew to incorporate asse ...

in February 2018. The Goa Government finally put its stamp on the project by enacting "The Goa (Mopa Airport Development Authority) Act, 2018" on 5 September 2018. Subsequently, the

Union Home Ministry The Ministry of Home Affairs (IAST: ''Gṛha Maṃtrālaya''), or simply the Home Ministry, is a ministry of the Government of India. As an interior ministry of India, it is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and dome ...

gave security clearance for the construction in October 2018. On 18 January 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the Goa Government and GGIAL to maintain status quo on the project due to environmental impact. Construction of phase 1 of the airport was underway when the top court had given its order. The Court allowed resuming of construction work at the project site in January 2020. The State Government has acquired 78.41 lakh square metres of land for the proposed airport from villages of Casarvarnem, Chandel, Varconda, Uguem, and Mopa in Pernem taluka. GGIAL expects the airport to be inaugurated in December 2022. The airport will have a code 'E' compliant, 3.5 kilometre long runway with Rapid Exit Taxiways. The airport will have an Integrated Passenger Terminal Building, Air Traffic Control (ATC) building, meteorological facilities, a cargo terminal, ancillary facilities for processing and storage, aircraft rescue and firefighting services and infrastructure for aviation fuel. As of December 2021, 50% work of the airport has been completed, and additional 25% work is expected to be completed by March 2022 for testing of the airport, which will be conducted by Directorate General of Civil Aviation. As of July 2022, 90% work of the airport has been completed, and testing of the airport's

Instrument Landing System In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...

(ILS) has also been successfully calibrated, ensuring safe landing of aircraft and making the airport capable for commercial operations. The airport was expected back then to become operational on 15 August 2022. On 11 December 2022, the airport was inaugurated by

and renamed to Manohar International Airport after former Defence Minister and the 10th Chief Minister of Goa,

. It opened for domestic operations on 5 January 2023, with the first flight operated by

. International flights will begin from February 2023.

Airlines and destinations

References

Airports in Goa International airports in India Buildings and structures in North Goa district Airports established in 2022 2022 establishments in India {{DEFAULTSORT:New Goa International Airport

History

Airlines and destinations

See also

References