Goa’s Mopa International Airport to be inaugurated on December 11; Here's how it will look

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on December 11 inaugurate the state's second international airport at Mopa in North Goa and the facility airport will begin operations on January 5, 2023. The Mopa airport has been built at a cost of Rs 2,870 crore and is spread over 2,312 acres. It is expected to handle 44 lakh passengers per annum in the first phase  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Mopa International Airport in Goa on Sunday as part of the government's initiative to improve connectivity by establishing a network of airports. In November 2016, the prime minister laid the airport's foundation. The facility airport will begin operations on January 5, 2023.  The New Goa International, or the Mopa airport, has been built at a cost of Rs 2,870 crore on 2,312 acres by GMR Group’s special purpose vehicle Goa International Airport (GGIAL).

This will be Goa's secondary airport; the primary airport is at Dabolim. Mopa airport offers several upgrades over the Dabolim airport. 

The airport's current capacity to handle passengers is 8.5 MPPA (million passengers per annum). With the opening of Mopa airport, the overall passenger handling capacity will increase to about 13 MPPA. Additionally, the airports in Goa have the ability to grow from around 10.5 to 43.5 MPPA when considering the whole expansion capacity.

With 15 local and 6 foreign destinations, the Dabolim airport provides direct connectivity. These will rise to 35 local and 18 foreign sites through Mopa airport. The new airport is expected to push up property prices. Industry watchers said that real estate prices in north Goa and nearby regions are set to appreciate 27-30 percent annually.

Additionally, Mopa airport has a night parking facilities available, but Dabolim airport did not. Furthermore, the Mopa airport would feature a facility with a handling capacity of 25,000 MT, whereas there was no cargo terminal at Dabolim.

Since 2014, the nation's total number of operating airports has nearly doubled, rising from 74 to over 140. In the next five years, the government intends to build and open 220 airports.