Mopa Airport in Goa to become operational in September 2022; to be inaugurated in August

Starting September 1, tourists visiting Goa will be able to access the new Mopa Airport. However, as per reports, the first phase of the Greenfield International Airport at Mopa will be inaugurated in August.

It may be noted that the tourist state already has an international airport at Dabolim. The new airbase, as such, will additionally enhance the face of connectivity and growth in the state, as the second international airport here.

A project of GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited (GAL), the Mopa Airport has been built on the BOT model. This means that the Greenfield airbase will be built, operated and transferred through GGIAL by GMR for a tenure of 40 years, extendable by 20 years.

The operations of Mopa are pegged to not only boost travel and tourism while distributing flight load in the coastal state but also expand the scope of youth working in the Goa aviation sector.

"We will decide on inaugurating this airport between August 15 to 30. In the next six months 500, candidates will be recruited here. In allied services, it will require more one thousand staff, within six months, once the airport is commissioned," The CM said at an event that was held to distribute appointment and admission letters of GMR Goa.

"From September 1, flights will start landing at Mopa. We will have to join training (centres) to get jobs in this area. Government jobs are not only jobs, even the private sector has good opportunities. We need to grab them," he said. Candidates interested in getting their aviation skills updated can take admissions for better prospects.

"It will be a continuous process of recruitment here. For this we will need to skill ourselves," the CM said, adding "For this we will have to achieve skill and will have to upgrade ourselves. Many courses are available in Goa."

"Even the hospitality sector is a bigger sector, if we take admissions in such courses (through ITI and polytechnics) then it will help as two lakh jobs will be created in this sector within two to three years," he concluded.