<RESPONSE: If my memory serves me correctly a figure of more than Rs 800 crores was mentioned.
cheers. Gabe.> [Gabe Menezes, Feb 2] This must have been some time ago. By now it may be the equivalent of Rs 1000 crores. Of course, a techno economic feasbility study is supposed to have got underway last month as per the update I had provided but nothing further has been heard about it since. This study will reportedly take 5 months. It might (should!) consider alternatives such as closure of Dabolim for civilian traffic in order to boost Mopa's viability. A lot will depend on the upfront investment planned for Mopa. If the Goa govt thinks in "Taj Mahal" terms it will be very high and take for ever. If it thinks in terms of keeping international airport "options" open it could be much smaller (though not peanuts by any means) and increased progressively as traffic builds up. Btw, one has to factor in the cost of connecting highways etc. The new 100 km Pernem Polem highway is being talked about. The cost of this itself is of the order of Rs 1000 cr. So a lot of money is potentially involved. Corruption also has to be minimised if not eliminated when it gets underway. In these circumstances the armed forces must act effectively and expeditiously on the noble philosophy of "sharing airport assets" (such as at Dabolim) that one of their chiefs recently enunciated in Pune. Despite that talk, the Bangalore HAL airport is to be closed to civilian traffic when the new BIAL is operational and Pune is slated to have a greenfield airport worth Rs 500 crores!!!
