–Govt’s plan to inaugurate Islamabad airport seems to be a political decision
ISLAMABAD: Government’s plan to inaugurate the long-delayed new Islamabad International Airport on April 20 seems to be a political decision, as the airport still lacks basic facilities.
The project was launched back in 2007 with the initial proposed budget of around Rs 37 billion and was scheduled to be completed by 2010 but due to repeated delays and ill-planning, the cost of the project escalated to Rs 105 billion.
The government gave several deadlines for the inauguration of the airport but it could not be made operational due to non-completion of much-needed facilities. So, it appears now that the government is adamant to inaugurate it at all costs just for political mileage and to avoid further embarrassment caused by constant delays and the soaring cost of the project.
The airport is designed to cater nine million passengers annually. In the old airport there was a sitting capacity of 1400 passengers, but in the new airport the sitting capacity is over 5000 passengers.
Sources told Pakistan Today that the government is all-set to inaugurate the much-awaited Islamabad airport at the last leg of its tenure to use it for political purposes as the elections are near.
They said that the road leading to the airport is yet to be completed and the construction of the metro bus track on Kashmir Highway would take three to four months to be fully operational, adding that there would be extra load on the roads that could cause traffic problems.
They said that despite being an international airport which will be used by thousands of passengers, there is no hotel facility due to which the passengers could face great problems in case of flight delays. They also said that under such circumstances, the passengers would either have to wait in the waiting lounge or have to rush to Islamabad to wait until the problems were solved.
Sources said that the two runways of the airport are so close to each other that a little obliviousness on part of the pilots could lead to major accidents.
It is worth noting that even the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), during its visit to the airport on Thursday, expressed concerns and reportedly recommended that the two runways should not be used simultaneously because the distance between them is narrow and could cause accidents.
The committee, headed by Syed Khursheed Shah, visited the new Islamabad airport where Aviation Division and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials briefed them about the new airport.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) newly-elected Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed reportedly said that the private housing societies in the surrounding areas of the new Islamabad airport increase the security risks. Responding to his concerns, the CAA officials present there said that the housing societies got their NoCs from the CAA before they started their operations.
Sources further said that due to the scarcity of water, the passengers could face serious water issues. Although a small dam has been constructed, it would hardly meet the need, they added.
Talking to Pakistan Today, CAA PRO Farha said that the airport would be fully functional on April 20, as all the work has been completed in this regard.
She said that all operations from the old Islamabad airport will be shifted to the new airport before April 20.
Responding to a question, she said that all roads leading to the airport have been completed and the metro bus track is in its last stages of completion and will be operational soon.
Talking about the non-availability of the hotel facility, she said that it was not the responsibility of the airport to provide hotels for passengers, adding that in case of any emergency, the passengers could spend their time in the waiting lounge. She said that there would be no water issue since the dam had been completed.
It is worth mentioning that the first successful test flight of PIA PK 9001, along with the crew and technical staff, took off from Benazir Bhutto International Airport at 1:04pm on last Saturday and landed at the new Islamabad International Airport at 1:29pm.
The flight was flown by Captain Maqsood Bijarani, along with Chief Engineer Farhan Mir, making the flag bearer PIA the first airline to land and take-off from the newly-constructed airport.