Dabolim and Mopa

The chief ministers of Goa over the last 4 years, Digambar Kamat and Manohar Parrikar, seem determined to develop a new airport at Mopa. The few stated reasons for this follows the classic FUD format - Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt! These include :

1. Dabolim Airport will be saturated at 3 million passengers a year. We will soon have 6 million passengers a year. Wide bodied aircraft cannot land at Dabolim.
2. It is better to have a second airport. Regional Airports are doing well. It reduces travel distances.
3. We can create an export hub at the airport. We can also create a food processing area.
4. The Mopa land anyway has a bauxite mining lease on it. It is preferable to build an airport instead.

 As I will show below, these are bogus. A Government serious about Goa and what can be implemented would spend its time on Dabolim and not acquire vast tracts of land needlessly for a second airport.

A. Dabolim Capacity Constraints

Large airports usually have multiple runways. A quick look at the map of Dabolim shows that there is no space for a second runway at the minimum distance of around 1+ km. So is the single runway the constraint.

The largest single-runway airport is Gatwick Airport serving London and surrounding areas. In the period Jan-Dec 2012, Gatwick served 34.2 million passengers with a single runway. Dabolim, by contrast, served only 3.5 million passengers in Apr 2011 - Mar 2012. Here's a good satellite picture of Gatwick. Note the cargo complex as well as the number of aerobridges. Also note that the airport terminals and facilities are concentrated on a single side of the runway with a small section on the other side.

Let's look at some comparative statistics for Gatwick and Dabolim :

	Gatwick	Dabolim
Passengers	34.2 mn	3.5 mn
Cargo tonnage	88,111	6,170
Flight movements	251,067	27,430
Runway Length	3,316 m x 45m	3,458 m x 45 m
Certified for aircraft	Code-F (all including 747-8 and A380)	Code-E (all up to 747-400)
ILS	CAT-III	CAT-I
Aircraft stands	115	11
Terminal space	258,000 sq mtr	15,987 sq mtr
Check in counters	348	37
Area	674 hectares	576 hectares (Civil enclave 15 hectares)
Operational	168 hours (24x7)	145.5 hours (24x7 except Mon-Fri 8:30 am - 1pm reserved for Navy)

It is clear that 34 mn is far in excess of any foreseeable needs of Goa. Let us look at the possible constraints to the Dabolim capacity.

1. Unable to handle large Code-F aircraft (A380/747-8). The number of passengers per aircraft is quite similar between Gatwick (134 in 2011) and Dabolim (128). Hence, it is not really aircraft size that is a constraint on capacity. Further, upgradation of the runway width to 60m with shoulders, etc. should be possible given that the area immediately surrounding the runway is unused or can be moved to other locations. The new taxiway has been designed with the Code-F horizontal separation of 190m (although it would need widening).
2. Other landing/take-off infrastructure puts a constraint on number of flight movements per hour. There are many ways to increase runway capacity. This could include CAT-I ILS instead of CAT-III, or control tower specifications, etc.  It is hard to see why this cannot be upgraded to increase capacity. In particular, the taxiway may need to be extended (through the Naval Golf Course) and High Speed or Rapid Exit Taxiways. Potentially, a taxiway needs to be built on the terminal side of the runway.
3. The Naval timing restrictions constraint capacity: It is possible that in 2005, this was a significant constraint (when night operations were largely not permitted). However, the navy has been progressively broadening the timings for civilian operations. If we examine capacity in two blocks, we have the night hours of say 10 pm -6am. This would be used principally by international flights, especially charters. There are no constraints on movements at this time. Of the remaining 16 hours that see peak domestic traffic (6am - 10pm), around 5 hours are taken up by the Navy. That still permits 11 hours of day time operations. At a conservative 20 movements for 11 hours for 365 days, and 6 movements for 8 hours for 365 days, we get a total of around 98,000 movements. This should be easily achievable, and would take passenger throughput to around 12mn from the current 3.5mn.
4. Inadequate aircraft parking space / terminal capacity. The new Integrated Passenger Terminal at Dabolim has a 22 aircraft stands (instead of 11), and covers 61,957 sq. mtrs. Extrapolating from Gatwick, this should be adequate to service around 7 million passengers a year. Capacity needs beyond that will need an expansion of both the aircraft stands as well as terminal capacity.
5. Lack of other infrastructure like fuel tanking, etc. This is currently constrained due to perceived land availability.
6. Lack of connectivity infrastructure to / from the airport. Dabolim is actually a very well located airport. It is reasonably in the centre of the state (although to far west). Maximum travel time to the three extremities (North, East and South) are approximately similar. This image shows Dabolim and Mopa in context of Goa. If we did not have any airport in Goa, the ideal spot would have been Dabolim as discussed below.

a. Nearby city (so that staff have a place to live and enjoy social life). Vasco is a stones throw from Dabolim. There is no city close to Mopa. Mapusa is quite some distance. 

b. Roads: NH4B passes next to the airport, giving rapid access to Ponda and the hinterland. NH4B also meets NH17 a short distance from the airport. As soon as NH17 is broadened to a 4 lane divided highway (which Mopa also requires), there will be speedy access to most parts of Goa.

c. Rail: The Vasco - Madgaon railway line passes adjacent to the airport. It would be easy to add direct access to a station from the airport terminal. In the medium term, Goa may consider rapid transit lines radiating from the Dabolim towards Colem, Canacona and Pernem. This will be assisted greatly if the railway loop between Cansaulim and Verna fructifies. 

d. Water: Mormugao harbour is very close to Dabolim, with good road and rail access between the two. It is feasible to consider rapid transit between the harbour and the airport, and a series of high-speed ferries from Mormugao onwards to Dona Paula/Panjim, to Aguada and to the Malim jetty at the base of the Mandovi bridge headed onto NH17 north. 

e. Fuel, Power, Water: Airports need large amounts of aviation fuel, as well as energy for powering its services. Dabolim can easily be supplied aviation fuel through Mormagoa / Indian Oil Tanking. Similarly, with the new GAIL pipeline to Zuari, a highly efficient fuel source is available for powering airport operations. Water is also more easily available as the catchment areas of Goa are accessible to Dabolim (whereas for Mopa, these are in Maharashtra).

On reviewing the above, it is clear that land availability for parking / terminals / other infrastructure is the only constraint to the expansion of Dabolim to cover all foreseeable needs (unless there is some other over-riding technical hard constraint.)

B. Airports in the Region

A quick look at the existing airports shows that apart from Dabolim, the closest airports with a reasonable frequency of scheduled flights are Pune and Mumbai to the north, and Bangalore, Mangalore & Mysore to the south. On the east, the nearest airport would be Hyderabad. Consequently, Dabolim presently serves a huge hinterland, extending from as far away as Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Dharwad, Hubli, Gokarn, Ankola & Karwar. This large hinterland has a very significant population and air traffic can be expected to grow rapidly.

Existing airports being upgraded and reactivated

Belgaum Airport has restarted handling only ATR-72 aircraft due to constraints in its apron space. This is being upgraded to handle 737s. The Government of Karnataka has proposed making Belgaum the second capital of the State of Karnataka. In this light, it is fair to assume that Belgaum airport will be developed significantly in future. Belgaum has at least 4 major road routes into Goa - via Anmod Ghat, via Chorla Ghat, via Dodamarg and via Amboli Ghat. Consequently, it is easy to envisage road upgradations that would permit easy access to multiple locations in Goa from Belgaum airport. Certainly, passenger traffic through Dabolim bound for Belgaum would be diverted to the upgraded airport.

Hubli Airport is also being upgraded to be able to serve Boeing 737s and A-320s. Passenger traffic through Dabolim bound for Hubli-Dharwad and its region would be diverted to the upgraded airport. The road connections from Hubli into Goa are presently of rather poor quality.

Proposed airports (under construction)

Sindhudurg Airport (at Chipi-Parule) is far ahead of Mopa. IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. is developing the airport under a PPP model. They have incorporated IRB Sindhudurg Airport Pvt. Ltd., have received Environmental Clearances, have acquired the land (271 hectares) and have commenced construction with a project cost of Rs. 571 crores. It is scheduled to be completed before the 2014 elections. It is planned to have a runway length of 3170 mtrs, long enough for even 747s. This area will obviously serve Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra, including tourist spots of Malvan/Sindhudurg, Sawantwadi, Amboli, as well as potentially parts of Pernem Taluka in Goa. Since construction has started, we should assign a high probability to the completion of this airport.

Karwar Airport is currently planned to be a small facility of 52 hectares with an airstrip serving helicopters and Dornier-228. This would require a runway of at most 1,000 mtrs. Since this is an integral part of Project Seabird, it has a high probability of fructifying. Further, the Karnataka Government has proposed a civilian enclave, which would entail acquisition of a further 75 hectares for a cost of Rs. 20 crores (2007 figures). This would permit a runway of 2,500 meters which would allow A-320 and Boeing 737s to operate. The catchment area of this airport would be Karwar, Ankola, Gokarn, and Canacona taluka of Goa (being closer than Dabolim, let alone Mopa). The process of land acquisition for the civil enclave doesn't seem to have started. However, given the low costs of expansion to a serviceable civilian airport, and the likely development of the area due to Project Seabird and the lack of other airports along the Karnataka coast except Mangalore far to the south, we should assume a reasonable probability of it fructifying.

View Existing & new airports around Goa (Mopa is the ?) in a larger map

This map give a good perspective on existing and proposed airports in the vicinity of Goa. The 4 new airports form a ring around Dabolim, between 70 and 120 km apart. They are all designed to serve Code-C aircraft, i.e., 737s/A320s and smaller. This is the overwhelming majority of all domestic air traffic. Hence, it is clear that with these new airports, Dabolim will lose its hinterland outside Goa (except for International traffic).

C. Goa's options

Two-airport option is stupid. It is obvious that with 4 new airports coming up within around 100 km, it is difficult to justify a sixth airport in the vicinity. The air traffic is simply not there, especially since there is adequate land around each of Sindhudurg, Belgaum, Hubli and Karwar airports for further expansion to support wide-bodied aircraft. Personally, I think it is impossible to arrange any project financing for Mopa, given the greenfield nature of the airport, the new airports coming up around, and the continuation of operations at Dabolim - it is impossible to justify Mopa simply on 1,000 charter flights a year, or even 5,000 charter flights (assuming a huge expansion of international flights).

Further, the ICAO Report in 2007 clearly states that the two-airport option is a poor second-best option compared to a single airport option. We also need to learn from the experience in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai, where two-airport options were considered but finally only a single-airport option was viable.

Single airport option. Therefore, Goa has the following single-airport options before it:

1. Continue to develop Dabolim. The key constraint here seem to be the availability of land for aircraft stands and terminal buildings, and related facilities. We will examine this later. Note that the total area of Dabolim airport (576 hectares) is not very different from that of Gatwick (674 hectares). The constraint is the land availability for civilian use.

2. Develop only Mopa and close down Dabolim. This has presently been ruled out by the Chief Minister. However, since a 2 airport strategy is completely unfeasible, we need to examine this strategy. In general, a new airport in the present situation would also not be financeable. However, if the state government is willing to provide large scale financial support (viability-gap financing), then any project can be made financially viable. Mopa suffers from a number of negative features compared to Dabolim. To enumerate a few :

a. Not centrally located. Mopa is located at one extreme end of Goa. While it will benefit people from Pernem, Bardez, Bicholim and Sattari talukas, it will increase the travel time and travel cost for all others. For people of Sangeum, Quepem and Canacona talukas, this will be a disaster.

b. Poor road connectivity. A new road needs to be constructed till NH17. However, it remains a great distance from NH4A/4B and from the main industrial estates of Goa.

c. Poor rail connectivity. While the Konkan railway is not too far, it is on the plains and not on the plateau. Building a spur line would cost considerable amounts.

d. No water connectivity. Mopa is distant from any port.

e. No town to support the thousands of people working at the airport. Whole new townships will be needed for Mopa in the Pernem taluka.

f. No easy access to water. One of the key justifications for Mopa has been the possibility of creating a food processing zone. However, a look at the map of Goa and its surrounding areas will show few water sources near Mopa that are within Goa. The Chapora river is already tapped at Tillari. The Tiracol river is still available, but as it essentially forms the border with Maharashtra, any large scale extraction of water will require intense discussions with Maharashtra.

g. Risk of clearances, public protests, etc that can delay or block completion. Like Dabolim, Mopa is built on a plateau (also called sadas). Unlike Dabolim, Mopa is a greenfield project on a sada with no development. It is well known in environmental circles that the sadas have higher biodiversity than even the Western Ghats. Consequently, we must assume in a state like Goa that there are significant risks of not receiving the plethora of required environmental clearances as would be needed for a large scale development on Mopa plateau.

As is obvious, Mopa can be justified only if there is absolutely no way Dabolim cannot be scaled up. This requires the identification of land at Dabolim.

D. Additional space for Dabolim expansion

The first place to look for additional land for Dabolim is to encourage Karnataka / AAI / Indian Navy to expand capacity at their new Karwar airport. It may be possible to shift some of the aircraft (ideally the fighters, but possibly the Ilyushin IL-38s) to Karwar. A proactive Goa Government can even finance purchase the land for the runway expansion and the expansion of the Naval enclave, as it will surely be cheaper land than close to Dabolim.

A quick look at the map of Dabolim and its surrounding areas shows that while a good chunk of land is reserved by the Navy for its operations, another very significant parcel of land, possibly much larger, is occupied by the Naval staff residences and associated facilities. In the past, discussions with the Navy around expansion of the civil enclave has been around land swaps. Let us look at this map closely for some solutions. In it, I have marked out areas in Navy Blue that can be used to expand the civil enclave in the airport. In Green, I have marked out areas in the vicinity which seem to be undeveloped or lightly developed. Surely some of these areas can be used for a land swap with the navy ? There is actually sufficient land to also build the conferencing centre (which Goa desperately requires), as well as the food processing hub.



A determined Politician would make this possible. After all, skill in politics is to pull of complex deals like this.

E. Other Considerations

Lastly, our Government has been claiming with regards to the buffer zone around Wild Life Sanctuaries that the state has very little land for development. In this situation, it would surely be wise to reserve Mopa for other development, such as an Institutional Zone reserved for Universities and related research institutions, industries and their ancillaries. Areas of concentration for these universities could include tourism (including heritage management and conservation), pharmaceuticals, ecology, and fine and performing arts (music, art, architecture, drama, fashion, design etc).

Surely, if the state government can return land to a son of our soil, by not having an additional airport, we will surely reduce the land acquired from many sons of our soil. That is in the public interest.

F. Our politicians are not stupid, why are they still pushing for Mopa ?

One possible explanation is that the situation in 2005, when the first feasibility study for Mopa was done, was very different. There were significant constraints on Dabolim capacity - no night flights, and a large chunk of time blocked during daylight hours. Further, none of the 4 projects, i.e., Sindhudurg, Belgaum, Hubli or Karwar airports, were being considered. Since then, we are suffering from some sort of endowment effect, where it is no longer feasible to change its stance.

Update April 24, 2013 : A follow-up article is available at http://moreseriously.blogspot.com/2013/04/mopa-and-dabolim-after-icao-2007-report.html