The ongoing construction work for the provision of various facilities in the terminal building of the new Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA), some 30 km off southeast of the federal capital, was stepped up on Sunday to make it operational by 2014. The work on signage, counters, seating, trolleys, furniture and resource centres in the passengers’ terminal building was likely to be completed by the end of this year. An official of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Sunday that prequalification of contractors and firms financially and technically capable of supplying and installing the furniture, counters and signage was under process. He said bids for work would be invited after completion of prequalification process. The official said that runway of the airport had already been completed while passengers terminal buildings, air traffic control tower and residential blocks were being completed at a very fast pace. New BBIA, located in Attock’s Fateh Jang area, some 30 km southwest of the federal capital, is expected to be completed and operational by 2014.
The project, after completion, would be the first Greenfield Airport of the country with state-of-the-art facilities for around 25 million domestic and international passengers per annum. According to the official, the new airport would replace the existing one. At present, the BBIA was handling some 18 airlines and most of the international commercial flights operated at morning time which caused rush and delays. He, however, expressed confidence that the new airport would spread over 3,600 acres and would not only serve the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi but also the adjoining provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The estimated cost is around $300 million and the new airport facility would comprise a contemporary state-of-the-art passenger terminal building, control tower, runway in addition to a secondary runway, taxiways, apron and cargo complex.
