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* * * 2007 ANNUAL GOANETTERS MEET - GOA * * *
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WHERE: Foodland Cafe - Miramar Residency - Miramar, Goa
WHEN: December 27, 2007 @ 4:30pm
More info:
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2007-December/066098.html
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Mopa airport: vast job opportunities By Abdul Rauf Beig
Panaji, Dec 17 The new airport project in Mopa is expected to generate over
55,000 jobs, expressed in person-years for the duration of the construction of
the new facility, says the report presented to the state government by the
International Civil Aviation Organisation.
The reports also states that it is estimated that the unconstrained
operations at the new airport would also generate on a continuous basis a total
of some 375 to 450 additional jobs per each million additional passengers that
could not have been accommodated at the Dabolim airport because of capacity
constraints.
The new airport in Mopa, that is likely to cater to ever growing air traffic
to the state would generate an important additional economic impact which would
be beneficial for the state and which could possibly justify a public financial
participation in the completion of the project, states the report.
The report also states that government should proceed immediately with the
implementation of its long-term vision for the construction of a new airport at
Mopa that would be entirely dedicated to commercial operations. It says that
going ahead is necessary despite the importance of the currently planned
investment programme at the Dabolim airport.
According to the report, the new airport facility should have good surface
connectivity to fuel the forecasted continuous passenger growth and it is
imperative that the government also proceeds with the construction of the
highway that would link the new Mopa airport to the rest of the state and to
the south. This appears to be an essential condition for the success of the new
airport.
The international airport at Dabolim handled over 2.2 million passengers last
year, registering an increase from 27% to 37% on a yearly basis have been
experienced over the last three years. Amongst all the airports in India,
Dabolim International Airport is now ranked 6th in terms of passenger traffic.
The operational constraints at Dabolim no doubt constitute an important
impediment to further traffic growth, as air carriers have great difficulty to
satisfy the demand for air transportation to and from Goa, while optimising the
use of their aircraft fleet within their own system to feed Goa traffic into
important hubs, such as Mumbai and New Delhi.
The primary use of Dabolim airport is for military purposes and the civil
enclave accounts for less than 5% of the total airport property. Civilian
operations are precluded from 8.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every weekday mainly to allow
for unrestricted military flight training during this period. The aircraft
parking apron and the terminal building have been saturated at peak periods for
a few years. Despite all the efforts of the present AAI and airline management,
the Dabolim airport actually offers a poor level of service to its users
because of a desperate lack of adequate facilities. Improvements are however
being planned for at AAI Headquarters and there would not be relief in the
short term for the restricted hours of operations at Dabolim.
The report also states that recent passenger forecasts largely underestimated
the significant traffic growth in the last two years. The economic indicators
on which these forecasts were based also performed better than expected.
Revised realistic forecasts prepared by the ICAO team anticipate over 4 million
passengers in 2014 and some 6 million passengers in 2022. This accelerated
growth has a direct impact on the capacity of the existing facilities at
Dabolim and on the expected opening capacity of the new Mopa airport.
Financing a new airport is always a challenge, says the report adding that
given the significant level of investment required and the long period
necessary to amortise the assets, attractive minimum guarantees must be given
to potential developers.
Among the guarantees that need to be given, states the report, are the
insurance that there would be no competitive airport in the area, the likely
profitability of the investment over a medium term within the concession
period, the passenger traffic and the revenue generation opportunities showing
growth potential, and the existence of other indirect business opportunities to
complement the core activity.
The report also states that from worldwide experience in dual or
multi-airport systems, it appears clear that the decision makers must recognise
that a dual airport system is a second best solution compared to a single
airport.
It further says that it is of utmost importance for the Goa government to
establish an airport development strategy that will lead to an optimal
allocation of resources by maximising the economic and financial benefits,
while minimising the cost of providing airport services.
As social and economic issues will play a role in the development of the
strategy, it may be determined that both airports will operate. During the
construction of the new airport, additional studies and plans may be developed
to finalise the operational plans for a dual airport system.
The report says that since the Dabolim airport handles relatively small
amount of airport traffic it does not provide a strong argument for splitting
traffic between the existing airport and a new airport at Mopa as splitting
traffic between them would impact the commercial and financial viability of
both airports, if a succinct and comprehensive strategy is not developed prior
to the implementation of the dual airport system.
There is no question that a new airport will be required at Mopa, when the
enhanced capacity of Dabolim would not cope with the demand, says the report.
It also stays that the threat to further curtail commercial operations would
always remain present when these operations were tolerated in a civil enclave
of any military airport.
The conduct of commercial operations at any combined military/civilian
airport would always be subject to and dependent on national security
objectives and a climate of relative peace within a country and with
neighbouring countries, it says. It further says that commercial operations at
any military airport can either be allowed, restricted, temporarily suspended
or permanently banned depending on sovereign or military objectives in any
country.
The report also states that if a decision was taken to develop the new
airport in the next few months, it could be opened in 2013. Based on the ICAO
revised passenger forecast, it is recommended that the initial capacity of the
new airport be increased to 6 million passengers per year.
This first phase development would then have sufficient capacity to allow the
private airport operator to offer a good level of service to the airport
clientele until 2022. The estimated cost of the new facility is evaluated at
US$ 325 million.
The report has also revealed financial evaluation by ICAO indicated that the
Mopa project, even with a higher level of traffic would still not be
financially viable under a 100% private investment scenario. The impact of the
increase in the construction cost completely offsets the potential positive
impacts of higher levels of traffic. Only a detailed financial analysis could
better quantify the real potential viability of the project while establishing
the optimum investment required from the state government to make it a win-win
proposition.
(As published in The Navhind Times)
- Forwarded by www.goa-world.com
A Christmas deal for Goans all over the world
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