New Islamabad airport: NAB launches inquiry against CAA

The airport does not meet international standards for simultaneous use of two airstrips.


Waqas Naeem November 23, 2012

ISLAMABAD:


The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched an inquiry against the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after finding design faults in the new Islamabad airport.


Assessments carried out under the NAB’s Prevention and Awareness Regime revealed that the faulty design at the under-construction airport caused more than Rs1 billion in losses, NAB spokesperson Zafar Iqbal Khan said. The airport is being constructed near Fateh Jang.

Khan said the airport does not meet the international standards of using two airstrips simultaneously, as the inter-strip distance is only 300 metres instead of the recommended 800 metres.

CAA spokesperson Pervez George showed surprise when asked about the airstrip distance. He said the project was being built according to international standards and he does not think such technical mistakes could arise.

NAB Chairman Admiral (retd) Fasih Bukhari has directed the operations divisions to conduct an inquiry into CAA’s negligence.

The CAA is also conducting a study to revisit the charges it collects from international flights operating through the country’s airspace, as well as ground facilities used by domestic and international carriers. The study was initiated after a NAB inquiry into the authority’s auditing and billing system was launched in March.

The NAB inquiry found that the CAA has been losing around Rs10-13 billion every year because it allows free parking to international carriers for six hours. Iqbal said international aviation authorities only allow free parking for two hours, after which carriers are charged at an hourly rate.

If the CAA adopts such a system, it can double its revenue to Rs27 billion, according to NAB.

High-rise buildings in Islamabad

NAB also observed that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) failed to coordinate with the CAA before allowing construction of high-rise buildings in the capital city.

“The CDA’s incompetency, negligence and faulty procedures in planning mechanism has given loss of approximately Rs500 million to one of the builders in Islamabad,” stated a NAB press release without naming the builder.

Iqbal did not mention the builder either, but said the CDA did not take CAA in confidence before allowing the construction of the Centaurus and Grand Hyatt building projects.

He said the NAB will soon decide whether it will launch an inquiry into the matter or give recommendations to the CDA for future.

CDA spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said there were some issues regarding the construction of Grand Hyatt and Centaurus, which are being sorted out.

“We are [negotiating] with CAA,” he said. “The projects will be adjusted according to the permissible limit.”

He said the plans for these buildings, especially a hotel tower for the Centaurus project, have not been started yet and all the stakeholders are undergoing negotiations.

A NAB official, talking on the condition of anonymity, said when NAB officials contacted CDA about the issue, the civic agency’s response was simply that they made a mistake. The official said such a mistake shows lack of proper planning and financial insight. If more storeys are constructed on land that was priced according to a certain number of floors, it increases the land’s value, but the CDA would not be able to reap that benefit, said the official.

For now, NAB has instructed all its regions to ask city planners to coordinate with the CAA and obtain prior clearance for towers and high rise buildings.

NAB’s Prevention and Awareness Regime was launched in March 2012. Under the programme, NAB officials identify mega projects and evaluate them for misappropriations.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2012.

COMMENTS (1)

sheraz baig | 11 years ago | Reply

this airport start insha allah march 2014 and this is very big airport of pakistan . my choice name is new islamabad international airport is mein koi fault nahi hai aur is ka map aur construction bilkul theek hai

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