QUETTA – The Gwadar International Airport is likely to be operational next year, confirmed the aviation regulator of Pakistan on Monday.
The airport has faced delays in inauguration multiple times. The Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority Khaqan Murtaza had earlier confirmed that the new Gwadar Airport was supposed to be inaugurated last year.
The official had even confirmed that Chinese authorities have given March 2024 for the inauguration of the airport; however, he said there may be further delays in completing the arrangements for making the new Gwadar airport operational.
The fresh deadline by the Civil Aviation Authority confirms that the project has once again been slowed down due to multiple reasons not elaborated as of now.
The new Gwadar International Airport is an important step forward for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It shows how China and Pakistan are working jointly to improve infrastructure and boost the economy in the region by setting up a network of communication to cement the ties.
With a cost of $230 million project, the project was launched in 2019 and is fully funded by the Chinese government; the facility is located 26km east of Gwadar city.
Interestingly, the airport will be the second-largest airport in Pakistan boasting an area of 18 square kilometres. The groundbreaking ceremony of the airport took place on March 29, 2019, and Aviation Division is overseeing the project while the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has completed the safety check of the airport.
As per the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor website, the project’s completion deadline was March 2023. Besides a network of roads, the airport would allow investors as well as tourists to land in the beautiful city and enjoy the serene atmosphere besides looking for business opportunities.
Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a new three-month flight operation schedule for Gwadar Airport for the period from December 1 to February 28, 2024.
Under the new schedule, the flight operation will be functional for three days (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) per week. Moreover, the non-schedule flights have to inform the airport administration 24 hours in advance.
