New Islamabad airport to be operational by 2014
07 Sep 2011
Islamabad: The new Islamabad international airport, located in Fateh Jang tehsil of Attock district some 30 km southwest of the federal capital, is expected to become operational by 2014, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said Tuesday.
The $400 million work contract is being jointly executed by a Chinese company and Pakistan's own Frontier Works Organisation (WFO). Reports suggest that both the companies are working round the clock to complete construction of the passenger terminals and other buildings before the deadline.
The new airport will replace the existing Benazir Bhutto International Airport at Chaklala.
The Chaklala airport hosts operations of 18 airlines. With the majority of international flights operating in morning this is a cause for delays.
The new airport, spread over 3,600-acres, would not only serve the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi but also the adjoining provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The new airport facility, the first green-field airport in Pakistan, would boast of a contemporary state-of-the-art passenger terminal building, control tower, runway with provisions for a secondary runway, taxiways, apron, cargo complex, and hangar together with all the necessary infrastructure and ancillary facilities.
The new airport would be capable of hoisting the latest generation of modern passenger aircraft. It will also have a modular design which will allow it to handle 6.5 million passengers on an annual basis and 80,000 metric tonnes of cargo per annum.
A significant portion of the land has been earmarked for commercial purposes such as duty-free shops, hotel and convention centre, air malls, business centre, food courts, leisure and recreational facilities.
