Islamabad Airport's runway unavailable for operations: Details inside

ISLAMABAD - During the last days of September, the primary runway of Islamabad International Airport is slated to be inaccessible during early morning and designated nighttime hours, it emerged on Monday.

According to the spokesperson Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the patch will be unavailable from September 25 to 30 due to the routine cleaning of rubber at the airport’s main runway.

The spokesperson detailed that in the morning, rubber cleaning will take place from 05:30 to 08:30 hrs while at night, the cleaning of the runway will take place from 10:30 to 13:00, ARY News reported. 

As far as the flight operations are concerned, they will continue uninterrupted during the cleaning process.

A secondary runway would be available for flight operations at all times, the spokesperson clarified.

The Islamabad International Airport is one of the main airports of the country and handles national as well as international traffic.

During the last days of the former Pakistan Democratic Movement's government, it was decided to outsource the operations of the airport for 15 years.

The Ministry of Finance has also given approval to outsource the facility as Anwarul Haq Kakar assumed charge as caretaker prime minister of Pakistan.

Although complete details about the outsourcing are yet to be released, it is being reported that administrative and financial affairs, design, and construction of Islamabad International Airport will be handled by a third party.

Moreover, the matters pertaining to service charges, exchange rates, and shop rent will also be handled by the third party; however, matters related to security, customs, and immigration services at the airport will remain under the control of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

As per the initial reports, the third party will also be permitted to establish shopping malls and branded shops at the airport.

It bears mentioning that the former Aviation Minister, Khawaja Saad Rafique had announced that the airport would be outsourced but added that the navigational services and runway operations will not be outsourced and Civil Aviation Authority will continue to do it.

Rafique explained that International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank offshoot, is the government’s consultant on outsourcing and around a dozen companies have shown interest.

The then lawmaker, while speaking in the National Assembly, assured that there will be competitive bidding and that public procurement rules are being completely followed; he also confirmed that no one will be rendered jobless.

The minister told the legislators that Islamabad airport will be Pakistan’s first airport that will be outsourced and best international practices will be implemented.