Pakistan

New Islamabad Airport: ICCI wants speedy completion

Timely completion of the new airport was needed to project a positive image of Pakistan to tourists.

News Desk July 28, 2013

The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) is concerned by delays in the completion of the new Islamabad Airport, according to a press release issued by the ICCI on Saturday. ICCI President Zafar Bakhtawari said the new airport project was initiated in 2007 and was to be completed by December 2011, but due to long delays, its cost has reportedly skyrocketed from Rs35 billion to Rs73 billion. He said timely completion of the new airport was needed to project a positive image of Pakistan to tourists. Bakhtawari further implied that the current Islamabad airport is insufficient to manage heavy loads of cargo and passenger traffic, thus the early completion of new airport has assumed additional significance.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2013.

COMMENTS (4)

Tariq | 11 years ago | Reply

Come on guys this Airport is going to be for Capital and the surrounding areas (including Pindi and Potohar). I like the proposed name Gandhara International Airport . The land of Pindi and Potohar is located in Pakistan. It will bing jobs to Pindi and Potohar. I do not understand why people are so narrow minded in this era to think on basis of Punjabis and Sindhis. and making this an issue.....Wonder why Pakistan is still not a developing Nation....

Kazim Muneer | 11 years ago | Reply

Whether it is Islamabad Airport or Bahria Town, "interests" are inherently integrated into such projects by the concerned "stakeholders". Whether it is Malik Riaz (the Contractor) or someone else, as long as Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers are in habit of having one-to-one meetings with these Contractors, nothing can be achieved that is in public interest. The two projects cited by Khurram and Qureshi are merely two examples of many public sector projects in which public interest is always compromised in order to gain personal interest by PMs and CMs!

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Qureshi | 11 years ago | Reply

Its true that Islamabad is using Punjab land now. Just see Bahria Rawalpindi. Islamabadis call it Bahria Islamabad :). Shahbaz Sharief should take a serious note of this. Islamabad land should be properly demarcated. Islamabad has already taken away title "Capital of Pakistan" from Lahore. Now this Army mafia is after Punjab and KPK land. I think its time that we Punjabis should take what ours, otherwise these Islamabadis and Sindhis will eat us alive.

Khurram | 11 years ago | Reply

The Islamabad International Airport is being built on the land of Pindi and Potohar Punjab and how come you can call it Islamabad international airport?? Islamabad is now eating away the land of Punjab and Punjab government must took strict action otherwise in future we will see Islamabad will took away lands from Pindi to Gujar Khan and as far as Taxila and Attock with Pindi will be nowhere to be found.

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