First passenger flight lands at Sialkot International Airport

The first passenger flight landed at Sialkot International Airport on Saturday with 32 passengers including Chief Executive Airblue Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khawaja Muhammad Asif Member National Assembly.
Chairman Sialkot International Airport Baber Iqbal, Chief Executive of Sialkot International Airport Khawar Anwar Khawaja, Provincial Industries Minister Muhammad Ajmal Cheema, Chairman Task Force on Trade and Industry, District Co-ordination Officer and District Police Officer Sialkot received the passengers in a simple but impressive ceremony.
Speaking on this historic occasion Chief Executive Sialkot International Airport Khawar Anwar Khawaja said that President Pervez Musharraf would perform formal inauguration of the Sialkot airport in near future. It was President Pervez Musharraf who approved the project of Sialkot international airport and help fulfilling dream of the business community of this export-oriented city and hub of cottage industry of the country, Khawar Khawaja said.
He said that business community of Sialkot had played a dominated role in undertaking the mega project elegantly on self-reliance basis for fulfilling their dream.
The mega project of Sialkot international airport costing more than Rs two billion, had a great significance because it was totally financed by the private sector and so far the private sector had not built a project of this magnitude and size in the country, and not even in South Asia Khawar Khawaja said.
Speaking on the occasion Chief Executive Airblue Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Airblue would extend full support and co-operation to the management of Sialkot airport for making the project a complete success. He said that it was heartening that Sialkoties had set a role model by constructing most modern airport with longest international runway.
It may be mentioned that most modern Apron having the parking capacity for six wide-bodies aircraft or three airbus plus F-27 aircraft had been constructed at the airport. Besides 3,600 meter long, 45-meter wide taxiway had been constructed.
The longest international runway of the country measuring 3.6 Km had been constructed and it will cater the requirements of all aircraft used for international and domestic cargo and passenger traffic. The work on main passenger terminal was in full swing however temporary arrangements had been made accommodating the passengers at the airport.
The project had been undertaken on Build, Own and Operate (BOO) basis and this modern and professionally designed international airport has been developed over 1,004 acres of land and fully equipped for handling B-747-400, A300 and 737 aircraft.
The airport will not only cater the needs of golden industrial triangle of Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat but also generate thousands employment opportunities besides bring a revolutionary change in the socio-economic development of the region.
With the merging of Dry Port, Export Processing Zone and Airport at Sialkot, the importance of the area will further enhance which will ultimately help substantial increase in the exports from the area in future. Besides, the construction of mega project of Sialkot-Lahore motorway and setting up of an engineering university and industrial zone in the area has further increased the importance of the airport.
In the absence of airport, the exporters of Sialkot were confronting with multifarious problems because the air cargo from the area was sent via Lahore and Islamabad airports. But due the support and co-operation of the government the construction of airport has been given practical shape, which would ultimately help reduce the logistic problems of exporters of Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat areas.
The potential traffic forecast for Sialkot international airport is scaled down at the time of opening to 530,339 passengers a year while estimated cargo tonnage at the time of opening is expected to be 28,515 tons. This means that by the end of year 2012 about 53,000 tones of cargo will be lifted from Sialkot International Airport. Due to the provision of passenger facilities at Sialkot International Airport, it was estimated that the general public would benefit to the tune of over Rs two billion in terms of time and money savings.