New Gwadar International Airport, driver of regional connectivity, is set to be open by the end of the month.
As preparations are on completing stage, Zeeshan Saad, DG of Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA), visited to review its readiness. The project team enlightened airport stakeholders on available business opportunities and the economic zones tied to the project.
The New Gwadar International Airport (NGTA) located in Gurandani, 26km north-east of the existing airport in the city of Gwadar. This city locates on the south-western Arabia Sea coast of Balochistan province, opposite Oman. Khalid Kakar, airport manager, citing the limited operational capacity of the old airport, reports that this newly constructed one will encourage airlines with ‘modern fleets’ to begin services to end from Gwadar. He stated, “This is a huge airport in Pakistan, equipped with state-of-the-art technology and on architecture marvel.”
Moreover, New Gwadar International Airport’s runway spans 3658 meters in length and 45 meters in width. It makes it one of the fewer 4F-grade airports. To China Railway Beijing Engineering Bureau, the airport can accommodate the largest civilian aircraft including the Boeing 747-8. After New Islamabad International Airport, NGTA will be the second ‘greenfield’ airport of Pakistan. Both domestic and international flights can operate from here.
The Chinese media named it a ‘symbol of Pakistan-China friendship’. In 2015, when China launched CPEC, Gwadar intended to become the ‘crown jewel’ of the project. It historically struggled with a lack of infrastructure and its potentials remained unrealized after buying it from Oman in 1958. Gwadar featured heavily in CPEC, and its new airport was one of the flagship projects which started in oct 2019 under multibillion-dollars from China.
on 14th Oct 2024, Chinese premier Li Qiang and Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated this China-aided airport which was due to operate by the end of the year.
This flagship venture will transform connectivity and offer significant beginning of development for the South Asian nation. It promises to become a major driver of boosting trade, economic activities and regional connectivity.
