CAA restructuring process initiated

Director General, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Farooq Rehmatullah has said that keeping in view 12 to 13-percent growth in aviation industry in Pakistan, the process of restructuring of CAA has been initiated with focus on three major areas, including its regulatory role, Air Navigation and Airport services by introducing total professionalism.
He said this while speaking at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here on Thursday. LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh, Senior Vice President Yaqoob Tahir Izhar and Chairman, LCCI Standing Committee on Airfreight Unit, Riaz Ahmad Qaisar also spoke on the occasion.
Farooq, who spoke at length on various issues, said that the Cargo Complex at the Allama Iqbal International Airport would become operational on March 10, 2008 while funds for Customs facility in the Cargo Complex had been released.
Rehmatullah, who has been brought in from private sector, said that Cargo break-up facility at Karachi was under study to attract more business as at the moment Dubai, for having all such facilities, was making huge money. The airport cities, including shopping mall and hotel of international standard were also being developed near all the airports in the country, he added.
The DG CAA, who is the former head of Shell Pakistan, said that the services of a research company had been hired to take care of the customers and remove the bottlenecks in smooth functioning at all the airports. He further said that the CAA was adopting most modern navigation techniques to meet the present day challenges.
He said that work on new airport in Islamabad where 33.5 million passengers were landing every year had been initiated while talks for the release of funds for a new building in Multan were underway.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh highlighted problems confronting the business community. He said the CAA should ensure the early completion of Cargo Complex.
He added that non-installation of streetlights in cargo area was creating multiple problems, which needed to be taken care of. He also suggested boundary wall/ fencing of all Cargo Terminal Area with security/ screening arrangements of entry point of Cargo Area. He said that a good quantity of fruits and vegetables from the Lahore Airport was being exported to foreign countries.
The anticipated impact of WTO and Free Trade Agreement with a number of countries was going to give a quantum jump to exports of fruits and vegetables from Pakistan, he said. The LCCI president also raised the issues of Cargo Throughput Tax, which the Director General assured to be solved at the earliest.