Headline: "Bangalore, Hyderabad airports approved: Patel" [April 27].
Excerpt: <In his written replies to questions the minister said State Governments had proposed to build airports in view of increased number of tourists at ... MOPA (GOA) [emphasis in original], Chakan [code name for Pune greenfield a/p] and Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra)... However permission had been granted only to Bangalore and Hyderabad airports to be taken up by respective joint venture companies.> Pointers: 1) Goa government has communicated its approval for Mopa. 2) The Civil Aviation Minister will take the final decision about going ahead with Mopa 3) The Chakan a/p is slated to cost a mere Rs 550 cr while Navi Mumbai might chime in at a whopping Rs 3,230 cr. These compare with Rs 1,400 cr each for Bangalore and Hyderabad. 4) Chakan bears close watching in Goa because it may be a fall out over the dispute between local industry and the IAF about restrictions at the existing military controlled Pune airport. The Air Chief late last year even hinted at joint management of the "national asset". Updates on this tussle would be appreciated vis a vis Goa's problem at Dabolim.
