ISLAMABAD - The New Islamabad International Airport, in Fateh Jang Tehsil of Attock District some 30 km southwest of the city, is expected to be completed and operational by 2014. According to official sources in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), a Chinese company and the Frontier Works Organization (WFO) are working round the clock to complete construction of passenger terminals buildings before the deadline. Talking to APP, an official said the new airport will replace the existing one, Benazir Bhutto International Airport located at Chaklala.
At present, the Benazir Bhutto International Airport is handling 18 airlines. However, most of the international commercial flights are operated during the morning, causing delays. According to the source, the new airport spread over 3,600-acre would not only serve the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi but also the adjoining provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Estimated to cost about $400 million, the new airport facility, which is the first green-field airport in Pakistan, would comprise a contemporary state-of-the-art passenger terminal building, control tower, runway with a provision of a secondary runway, taxiways, apron, cargo complex, and hangar together with all the necessary infrastructure and ancillary facilities. The new airport would cater to the requirements of modern passenger aircrafts. He said the new airport will have a modular design to handle 6.5 million passengers and 80,000 metric tonnes of cargo annually.
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.
The new airport is envisaged to be a modern landmark structure to represent a twenty-first century Pakistan, as it will be the diplomatic and business gateway to Pakistan through Islamabad.
International Human Solidarity Day to be celebrated tomorrow: The United Nations International Human Solidarity Day will be observed on December 20 across the globe to remind people of the importance of working with solidarity towards eradicating poverty. On December 22 2005, the UN General Assembly had said the promotion of a culture of solidarity and the spirit of sharing was important in combating poverty. The event aimed to increase awareness of the importance of advancing the international development agenda and promoting global understanding of the value of human solidarity. On International Human Solidarity Day, governments are reminded of their commitments to international agreements on the need for human solidarity as an initiative to fight against poverty.