TOI Aug 26,'08: "State administration is ultimate authority on airport issue: CM". Some of the jarring notes: 1)"Kamat categorically assured that the Dabolim airport would be retained even IF the government pursued the Mopa airport project". It should have been "when". 2) "The government ... has decided that Dabolim CAN be retained" It should have been "must" be retained. So #1 and #2 together indicate hesitancy. Maybe Miguel Braganza can interpret. 3)"The project is being planned to cater to 20 million passengers over the next 25 to 30 years". What does this mean? Almost 1 million passengers a year for 25-30 years? Or 20 million passengers per annum IN 2033 or 2038? The former may be more realistic though I doubt that this is the actual plan for Mopa. It represents a huge climb down from the 10 million figure of ICAO used originally (comparable to BIA and HIA and perhaps Navi Mumbai) and whittled down to about 6 million subsequently. The government needs to be upfront about the actual start-up size of Mopa and projected growth in conjunction with Dabolim. 4) "The financial viability will depend on ownership and funding patterns which are based upon other models operating in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi and other places". These three have been based on closures of existing civil enclaves so its bad news if they are being used as templates for Mopa since assurances are being given for public consumption that Dabolim will be retained. 5) "Lourenco said that the closure of Dabolim airport would severely affect the economy and livelihood of South Goa". I would simply have said "Goa" instead of appearing partisan.
