Recently, the Prime Minister has officially inaugurated the MOPA greenfield airport in Goa, marking off the beginning of its flight operations. This happens to be the second international airport in Goa, the first being located at Dabolim. The first airport is operated at the air station of Indian Navy, INS Hansa as a civil enclave. Currently, Goa has got an airport in two districts, MOPA and Dabolim. The MOPA Airport is an INR 2,870 crore project, which has significantly boosted the real estate infrastructure through better connectivity in the city.

The new airport will be referred to as Manohar International Airport. This would be in honour of the late Manohar Parrikar. Once the development of this airport is complete, Goa will have a better air connectivity. Civilian traffic movement in the state will get a boost. On January 5, 2023, flight operations are likely to begin at the MOPA Airport.

In the first phase, the airport aims to cater to around 4.4 million passengers annually. According to officials, the airport can scale its operations to 33 million passengers annually. The new airport has been developed close to the border of Maharashtra and Goa. On the other hand, the old airport is located in Vasco town, which is a part of South Goa.

The capacity of the Dabolim airport can handle around 8.5 million passengers a year. This includes both international and domestic passengers. It was developed in 1955, while the authorities came up with a new terminal building in 2013.

The developers of the MOPA Airport considered using sustainable materials while working on this project. Besides having different eco-friendly facilities, this project has a solar power plant, LED lights on the runway, green buildings, sewage treatment plant, and rainwater collection facilities. Even recycling capabilities have been integrated into this new airport.

 It was back in 2016 that the prime minister laid the foundation stone of this airport in the month of November. The airport has some of the most sophisticated technologies include 5G compatible IT infrastructure, 3-D Monolithic Precast buildings, Robomatic Hollow precast walls, and StabilRoad. In the initial stage, IndiGo airlines will be operating 12 flights from the MOPA airport each day. Weekly, there would e 168 flights connecting eight cities across India from this new airport.