Islamabad: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Monday provided its approval to the construction of the New Gwadar International Airport facility, which will be developed at a cost of PKR 55.4 billion, in addition to sanctioning reduction in the scope of a road scheme in Gwadar.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jehanzeb Khan presided over the session, which reviewed the proposed upward revision in the construction cost of the airport project. According to the details revealed, the facility will be developed with government funds as well as a Chinese grant of 52 billion yuan (PKR 34 billion).
The government had originally sanctioned the project’s construction at a cost of PKR 7.5 billion in 2010. The first revision of PKR 22.5 billion was approved in 2015 and the second revision (of PKR 55.4 billion) was greenlit on Monday (October 12)
According to reports, changes to the project design resulted in the upward revision (of PKR 33 billion) of the cost (calculated in 2015). The new Gwadar airport is considered an important initiative with regard to the development of the Gwadar Port and its free zone.
The CDWP further directed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to review proposals pertaining to a reduction in the construction cost of Airport Security Force (ASF) and CAA buildings, which are expected to be constructed within the premises of the airport facility.
The authorities concerned had previously included PKR 9.9 billion (for the construction of an ASF camp) and PKR 2.7 billion (for establishing a CAA Residential complex) in the total construction cost of the airport project, but the federal government had allocated PKR 519 million for the facility under its Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
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