The cost for new Islamabad International Airport has increased from $350 million in 2005 to $650 million in 2007 and those abreast with the cause of escalation believe that at the end of the day project will cost $800 million to the nation.
The increase in cost even today is Rs 18 billion at 1=60 dollar/ rupee exchange rate. President General Pervez Musharraf is going to perform groundbreaking of this mega project but without a detailed engineering design on April 7.
Sources said Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had awarded a Rs 1.5 billion contract of levelling and grading of the land to M/s Hussnain & Co, a Lahore-based construction company, a year back and work is already in progress.
But CAA is yet to hire a consultant for detailed engineering design of the project. Even a lay man can understand that a detailed engineering design is pre requisite to start with an important project like the new Islamabad International Airport.
The purpose of levelling and grading work without detailed engineering design appears to be ensuring groundbreaking for the airport project with the given timeframe.
Sources said CAA had advertised for hiring a consultant for detailed engineering design sometime back and after going through the initial work it's negotiating with CPG- an Australian company- presently engaged with Singapore Authority for the similar job. The experts say the CAA will get the detailed engineering design ready for the project in 8 to 10 months after the award of the contract.
Probably, for the same reason CAA is hinting at start of construction work of the project in 2008. It perhaps does not include grading and levelling in construction work. The CAA estimates of Rs 38 billion for cost of the project, which according to its work plan, will complete in 3-4 years, is also indicative of the concerned authorities perplexity.
The project of constructing a green field Islamabad International Airport was conceived in 1988, by the then president Ziaul Haq, but it could not take-off due to CAA and other departments' indecisiveness. The past events and developments indicate that the concerned authorities kept on changing mode of work and procedure of award of contract for years.
They offered the project to the private sector sometimes on BOO and sometimes on BOT basis but each time the decision was reversed for the reasons known to those who delayed it for 19 years that multiplied its cost besides depriving Islamabad from an airport of the world standard.