A delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry led by its President Mr. Muzzamil Hussain Sabri visited the New Islamabad International Airport (IIAP) to see the status of its construction and standard of facilities. The delegation was comprising M Shakeel Munir Senior Vice President & M. Ashfaq Chatha Vice President ICCI, Mr. Abdul Rauf Alam, Chairman Founder, Mian Shaukat Masud & Mr. Zafar Bakhtawari, former Presidents ICCI and others.

 

Briefing the delegation, Brig. ® Pervez Hayat Khan, Project Director, Civil Aviation, Islamabad International Airport said there were many apprehensions about the completion of the facility which were not based on facts as the 90-95 percent work of the airport has almost been completed with its tentative date of operation as October 2016. He said the runways, roads, terminals etc. were in final stage of completion and it has been developed as the state-of-the-art facility with 3 times more passengers handling capacity, 4 storey terminals and 15 boarding bridges. 

 

He said 99 percent work for laying of transmission lines has been done and a 135MW grid station has been built to provide electricity to the airport. However, he said the cost of electricity would be very high. He said the airport was located at an area of 3300 acres with its length of 18.5 Kms. He said feasibilities of 3 big dams were prepared to supply water to the facility. He said the initial development cost of the project was estimated at Rs.38 billion, however, due to delays, its cost has increased to over Rs.85 billion. He said businessmen were playing an important role in the economic development of the country and hoped that the completion of this facility would give boost to business activities as it will promote trade and exports from this region.

 

Speaking at the occasion, Muzzamil Hussain Sabri, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry appreciated the construction of a modern airport in Islamabad and said that a Facilitation Counter for businessmen should be established at the airport to provide them better services. He said the mega projects should be completed on time as delay in completion increased the initial cost of such projects manifold, which was an unnecessary waste of public money.

 

He said a recent survey has declared Benazir International Airport Islamabad as the worst airport in the world, which was quite shameful for the country and stressed that Civil Aviation Authority should ensure availability of all required facilities at the new airport including proper baggage handling facility, easy access roads, enough water supply and electricity etc. to make it an international standard airport.  

 

Abdul Rauf Alam, Chairman ICCI Founder Group said Civil Aviation should ensure capacity building of new airport staff, efficient management, installation of latest equipment and more runways to handle multiple flights at a time. He said businessmen have many hopes from the new airport as it would contribute in facilitating business activities and promoting tourism in the Northern areas.