KARACHI: The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) now manages 26 operational airports, handling more than 22 million passengers annually, with connectivity to 37 international and 24 domestic destinations.
According to a fact sheet released by PAA to mark its second anniversary, it said they have employed over 7,000 aviation professionals.
The authority pointed to the new Gwadar International Airport, built at a cost of Rs 55 billion, as its flagship completed project.
The PAA also highlighted the reconstruction of the main runway at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport (Rs 10 billion), completed in January 2026, along with smaller rehabilitation projects at Dera Ismail Khan, Parachinar and Turbat airports completed between March and June 2026.
Furthermore, it said that Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport is undergoing a Rs 43 billion terminal expansion expected to finish this year, alongside a separate Rs 19 billion airside paving project targeted for January 2029.
The PAA also flagged a much larger final expansion plan for Lahore airport, estimated at Rs 125–140 billion, which it said would take roughly four years once awarded.
Skardu International Airport is undergoing a Rs 70 billion development programme expected to conclude around 2030, with new RNP-AR flight procedures also being developed for Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral.
Other projects in progress include airside infrastructure at Dera Ghazi Khan’s Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari International Airport (Rs 6 billion), a second phase at Muridke’s general aviation aerodrome (estimated Rs 7 billion), airside development at Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport (estimated Rs 14 billion), a Karachi cargo village (Rs 10.09 billion), and a general aviation and MRO facility at Islamabad airport (roughly Rs 10.72 billion). Rehabilitation work continues at Bannu, Dalbandin and Khuzdar airports.
The PAA said it has opened a new data center at Jinnah International Airport and that Islamabad International Airport has become Pakistan’s first fully cashless airport.
On the safety side, the authority listed a Rs 10 billion air traffic management modernization (tendered), a Rs 30 billion advanced security screening system targeted for December 2027, automated border control/e-gates worth roughly Rs 12 billion by June 2027, and a bird detection and deterrence system in Lahore (Rs 667.8 million) currently in trial phase.
A weather observation system for Lahore and a wind shear warning system for Islamabad, together worth about Rs 518 million, remain under consideration.
New air traffic control towers and rescue and firefighting facilities at Jinnah International Airport (Rs 5 billion) and an area control center expansion (roughly Rs 2 billion) are both targeted for completion by December 2028.
The authority also outlined plans for three new greenfield airports in Dera Ismail Khan (Rs 90 billion), Sukkur (Rs 100 billion) and Faisalabad (Rs 100 billion) with the Sukkur and Faisalabad projects currently at the consultancy stage and an initial completion target of 2031.
The PAA’s annual development program rose from Rs 33 billion in 2025–26 to Rs 69.47 billion for 2026–27, an increase of roughly 110 percent, more than double the prior year’s allocation, which the authority described as reflecting its commitment to accelerating airport capacity and infrastructure development.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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