As expansion work of the Dabolim airport is expected to be completed by September 2024 which will lead to increased traffic in the road network around the facility, the public works department (PWD) plans to undertake road widening of a 10-km stretch near the airport at a cost of Rs 20 crore. The road will be widened from the Chicalim junction up to the Dabolim airport by around 2ms.

?The land is with the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA), and they will be handing it over for the widening,? said an official.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is investing Rs 132.7 crore to expand the existing airport terminal, which will include two additional aerobridges, more parking space for aircraft and a larger parking facility for cars.

Once ready, the airport will handle 5,150 passengers during peak hours, or 1.3 crore passengers annually. Though construction began in January 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic adversely impact the project, causing the project to miss its 2023 deadline. It is finally set to be ready in September 2024.

Meanwhile, the port connectivity road project, costing around Rs 500 crore, is also expected to be finally completed in April 2024.

One part of the port connectivity was already complete, while the other portion of the elevated road-cum-flyover-cum road overbridge from Ravindra Bhavan junction, Baina, to gate number 9 of the MPT, including its loop connectivity ramps, was pending.

The project will not only help reduce traffic congestion on roads, but will be hugely beneficial to MPA from the business perspective. MPA has said it is looking to emerge as a multimodal hub and become a part of the ambitious PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan.