Panaji: The Centre on Thursday declared that the proposed Dhargalim to Varconda road, which will connect NH 66 to the new airport at Mopa, will be part of the national highway network. Land will be acquired for the new national highway which has been designated as 166S.
With the notification out, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will begin the process to acquire land and tender the contract to build the highway.
“The highway connecting Mopa airport to NH 66 has been declared as National Highway by the government of India,” said chief minister Pramod Sawant. “I thank minister Nitin Gadkari for the notification. This will ensure that the highway is developed under NHAI and Mopa airport will have seamless connectivity,” he said.
In 2018, the Centre had given an in-principle approval for the construction of an 8-km-long highway from Dhargalim to Varconda though authorities had yet to decide whether to construct a six-lane or a four-lane highway.
GMR Airports Ltd, through its subsidiary GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), is constructing the greenfield airport at Mopa plateau in Pernem taluka. The first phase of the airport is supposed to be ready by March 2022.
“This is a new road. Land has to be acquired for the highway and then the construction will start,” said PWD principal chief engineer Uttam Parsekar.
24/09/20 Newton Sequeira/Times of India
0 comments:
Post a Comment