Panaji, Aug 16 (IANS): The Goa government plans to squeeze out maximum benefit from a proposed Greenfield airport which is in the process of coming up at the Mopa plateau, 40 km north of the capital.
A draft investment policy floated by a specially appointed task force appointed by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar advocates attracting investment in the sectors of aviation and aerospace and even starting defence production-related educational and vocational courses to train the local human resource in the above mentioned areas.
The Mopa airport has encouraged the Goa government to look for "synergistic investments in the areas of aviation and aerospace (namely) research and development, engineering design and technology solutions, manufacturing of components, assembly and testing facilities", reads the draft investment policy.
Goa presently has one international airport at Dabolim, which is operated by the Indian Navy. Government estimates suggest that the airport would be unable to handle Goa's air traffic a decade from now.
The draft policy says the greenfield airport at Mopa was designed to handle 13.1 million passengers by 2045 and would also contain a cargo hub as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities.
Anticipating the possibility of indigenous production of defence equipment, thanks to the central government's decision to open up the sector to private enterprises, the draft policy further says that Goa should be in a position to tap the benefits by trying to attract manufacturers of defence products and component manufacturers as well as firms which promote defence related research and development.
"With large-scale procurement by the defence ministry and changes in the procurement policy, there is expected to be exponential growth in indigenous production of defence equipment in India," the draft policy says.
Creation of special private terminals and jetties to import and export goods, as well as promoting Goa as a hub for warehousing, container depot, cold storage facilities with linkages to port, road and rail infrastructure, would pay dividends.
The report also advocates introduction of courses on aviation, aerospace and defense in the educational institutions in Goa.