Panaji, February 13 Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant categorically stated on Friday that the Goa International Airport at Dabolim will not be closed.
The opposition parties, including the Goa Forward Party, the Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party, had expressed concerns on Thursday that civilian operations at the airport in South Goa would be stopped, and it would be exclusively used by the Indian Navy.
The airport is located within the Indian Navy's INS Hansa air base, but it has been used for both civilian and naval operations since its inception.
"Every time there is an election, the opposition tries to find some issue," the chief minister said on Friday, speaking to reporters in Porvorim.
In response to South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes's claim that he had seen a document about the plan to close the airport, Sawant said that Fernandes was "indulging in a political stunt."
"The MP makes such statements after coming out of the Parliament House. He is making a mockery of Parliament," the chief minister said.
The Union government recently spent Rs 450 crore on constructing a fly-over at the Dabolim Airport, Sawant said, adding, "This was in addition to the Rs 400 crore spent on infrastructure upgradation at the airport over the last 4-5 years."
This investment was made so that the airport could be used for civilian flights, the CM said.
There was a decision by the Union cabinet not to close the Dabolim Airport for civilians, he added.
Besides the Dabolim airport, the coastal state also has another facility—the Manohar International Airport—in North Goa district.