Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday maintained silence over the christening of Goa's upcoming international airport in Mopa.
The nomenclature process has hit controversy over the names of former defence minister late Manohar Parrikar and the state's first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar as potential possibilities.
Amid reports that the state government had recommended the name of Parrikar, who served as the state's CM on four occasions, Sawant, on Monday, was non-committal.
"The Union Civil Aviation ministry will decide about naming Mopa airport," Sawant told a press conference after he was asked whether the state government had proposed the name of Manohar Parrikar for the upcoming project.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to arrive in Goa on December 11 during his one-day visit to the coastal state.
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), which is in alliance with the BJP, has demanded the airport be named after Bandodkar. Besides being the state's first CM, Bandodkar was also MGP's head.
"The prime minister will inaugurate the Mopa airport. It is a Rs 2,870 crore project. One thousand two hundred fifty local youths have (already) got jobs at the airport. Training is being given to more youth," Sawant said. Several BJP MLAs have, however, demanded that the airport be named after Parrikar, who died in office in 2019.
In its first phase, the new airport, located close to the Goa-Maharashtra border in North Goa, is expected to handle 4.5 million passengers.
Sawant also said that while the existing airport at Dabolim in South Goa has six connections, the new airport will have connectivity with 12 more international destinations and 20 domestic destinations. "Mopa will have a night parking facility and a cargo terminal, which can handle 25 thousand metric tonnes per annum, which can be increased as per demand," Sawant said.
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