GWADAR – The New Gwadar International Airport initiated a five-day flight test phase on Tuesday implying that the project might be near completion after years of delay.
The facility is a key project aided by China in Pakistan and the test flight operation is being overseen by Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Ding Kan, the head of the project management team, informed Chinese media that the primary objective of this phase is to assess the standardization and safety aspects of the project’s navigation facilities, flight procedures, navigational aids, and road surface performance.
The official elaborated that the test serves as a crucial milestone in ensuring the safety and quality of operations at the forthcoming airport.
Kan claimed that upon the successful conclusion of the flight testing, the project will be close to its final phase, with expectations set for the airport’s completion and subsequent handover to local authorities by 2024.
The airport is one of the flagship initiatives under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and experts believe that the facility is poised to emerge as a modern icon in Gwadar, promising substantial enhancements to the city’s infrastructure.
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 communication network 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 the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority has completed the safety check of the airport.
According to 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 while looking for business opportunities.
