Balochistan

New Gwadar Airport ready to start flight operations

Ahsan Iqbal says it will be a gateway to connect different regions

APP July 16, 2024

A plane parks after completing its flight test at the China-aided New Gwadar International Airport in the southwest port city of Gwadar, Pakistan, June 4, 2024. The China-aided New Gwadar International Airport in Pakistan has started carrying out a five-day flight test from Tuesday, marking that the project is about to enter the final sprint stage, the airport's project management team said. PHOTO: XINHUA

BEIJING:

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Prof Ahsan Iqbal said that the New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) is ready to be opened and hoped that this airport would become an important hub of air transportation and a gateway to connect different regions in future.

The New Gwadar International Airport has been gifted by government of China to the people of Pakistan in general and people of Gwadar particular and it will stand as a monument of Pakistan-China friendship, he added.

Terming the airport as another milestone and flagship of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the minister hoped that with the training that Pakistani staff will get in China, this airport in future will become an important hub of air transportation and it will become a gateway to connect different regions.

As skilled manpower is a key prerequisite for the operation of the NGIA, 20 Pakistani officials of the airport have embarked on their Multi-disciplinary Training Courses in China.

Under the Training Program, China Airport Construction Group will transfer technical and hands-on knowledge to Pakistani staff to run airport operation independently. This is the first-of-its-kind human resource training courses aiming to hone the technical, administrative and managerial expertise of the staff of NGIA, the Chinese media reported.

The NGIA consists of 32 components such as a state-of-the-art runway, aprons, a terminal, along with civil, technical, electrical and communication infrastructure and allied facilities.