<PhilipYou had mentioned about there being a need to have a distance of 150 kms between twoairports. What is the basis for this law?In the US, a city such as New York has three airports within a distanceof 150 kms. So, this law seems ridiculous and if at all there is one, one would liketo know the justification for it. Goa can very well do with two airports, I feel, provided of courseMopa does not mean Dabolim will close down. regards,Samir >
Hi Samir: Thanks for the response to the previous post on non-metro airports. This 150 km separation rule seems to have originated here about 10 years ago. Maybe in the wake of the experience with Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) where the civil enclave at a naval base was closed. Subsequently it was applied to Dabolim in advance and to BIAL and HIAL when their projects started. The purpose is clearly to provide a monopoly to the airport developer -- and a hook to let off the military at the respective civil enclaves. It may also kick in when and if the planned new airports emerge in Pune and Vishakhapatnam where too there are busy civil enclaves in operation. The airport developers in Bangalore never tire of insisting that only places like London and New York with their humungous traffic levels qualify for multi-airport systems. Tokyo, Paris and other places in advanced countries also have multi-airport systems. Recently there was a report that indicated that Sao Paulo in Brazil (an LDC) has not just 2 airports but as many as 4! We need more examples of the latter. Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport which was in the news recently for a horrific crash is very centrally located too maybe like Begumpet, HAL and Dabolim.. I was interested to learn the other day that the NDA government which negotiated with BIAL in 2003/4 was only prepared to go as far as "endeavouring" to close HAL airport in Bangalore. Praful Patel who came in with the UPA in 2004 was the one who caved in to their insistence to close HAL once BIAL was up and running. HIAL followed suit in Hyderabad. Now GOG has asked the centre to "review" the Union Cabinet decision of 2000 to close Dabolim when Mopa is ready. As in Bangalore and Hyderabad there will be some sugar coating to the effect that "general aviation", "charters" -- and military flights -- would continue. General aviation would refer to VVIP flights. Aam aadmi would have to take a hike -- to distant (and costly) points to catch a flight. Costly because now the fashion at greenfeild -- and even modernised AAI -- airports is to charge exorbitant user developmen fees (UDF). Taxi charges also are sky high, not to mention hours to reach the new destinations. Dabolim must be kept open. It depends critically on the design, build-up, financing pattern etc of Mopa. It would all be completely opposite to the airport development experience so far (except at Bombay and Delhi). GOG would have a tough time making this happen. But that is the only way out. The trouble is mega projects have their huge and well known attractions to pols for money making. People will just have to insist on transparency and rectitude as you suggested in a recent post on Mopa. But people also have to think straight and in a progressive way (rather than the retrogressive way I was pointng out to). All very difficult but there is the exciting prospect of charting a new path in India. Cheers.
