Panaji, Jan 27 (IANS): After the under-construction Mopa international airport in North Goa becomes operational, the state's inbound tourist traffic will increase three-fold, Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari Minister said on Thursday.

Addressing a poll rally in Shiroda constituency, 40 km from here, he said: "Today, 91 planes come to Goa every day, but after the Mopa airport comes into being, within a year and a half, Goa will get around 250 aeroplanes.

"That means, if Goa gets three times the tourists, hotels will increase threefold and youth will get threefold jobs."

Goa, one of the most popular beach and nightlife tourism destinations in the country, currently attracts more than four lakh tourists.

The minister also said that the upcoming four-lane highway from Mumbai to Goa, which is being built at a cost of Rs 14,000 crore, would help save a lot of lives, which are lost in accidents along the currently used Mumbai-Goa highway.

"Mumbai Goa highway is a death trap, so many people have died. When I became minister I decided to build a cement-concrete road and work on the Rs 14,000 crore four lane road has started," he said.