From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Sep 3: Much to the nightmares of Goa and fears raised by Goa’s main opposition, Bharatiya Janata party, the document conceptualising a greenfield airport at Chippi in Maharashtra is eying for the tourism from Goa.

"To exploit the proximity to Goa and capture sizeable touristic traffic coming to visit konkan and north Goa,” the document on Maharashtra industrial development corporation’s (MIDC) website mentions.

The Greenfield project planned at Chippi village in Sindhudurg district is bordering Goa state.

The BJP had earlier feared that Goa government’s inordinate delays over constructing proposed airport at Mopa will affect the tourism in the coastal state.

“Mopa airport is dragging its feet over six years and state government is still acquiring land for it. Chippi airport will be a reality before that and it will divert all the tourist to Konkan belt, which is contiguous to North Goa,” BJP’s senior leader Laxmikant Parsekar said recently.

The party had also laid scathing attack on congress-led government for failure to implement the airport project, which has been hanging fire for long time now.

The MIDC document dated February 17, 2009, which was reportedly presented before the possible bidders for the project, reads that the airport is a part of government of Maharashtra’s vision to develop Sindhudurg as a tourism district.

The presentation reveals that the airport can be an alternative to Dabolim airport, a navy-controlled airport in Goa. The objectives also mentions that the airport will provide impetus to the tourism and trade of Maharashtra.

The 150-crore project is spread across 271 hectares between the villages of Chippi-Vadi and Parule in Sindhudurg district on west coast.