Construction of Goa's new green field airport at the Mopa plateau in north Goa will begin by September this year, Governor Mridula Sinha said on Monday.
"The tourist arrival is more than three-folds of the Goan population. In order to provide better infrastructure and attract more and more quality tourists, domestic as well as foreign, and also to avoid congestion at Dabolim airport, a greenfield airport at Mopa has been proposed," Sinha said in her address to the Goa assembly.
"The cabinet has approved the request for proposal. The construction work is expected to start by September 2016," she added.
Sinha called tourism the backbone of Goa's economy.