ISLAMABAD: New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) project is likely to be completed by October 2023 instead of the original timeline schedule of November 2022 and the China Airport Construction Group has informed Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) about this delay.
Documents available with Profit disclosed that completion of the construction work of NGIA has been facing a one year delay and China Airport Construction Group has informed CAA in this regard.
As per details, China was constructing an international standard airport in Gwadar for $23 million under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). And, initial timelines given for the completion of NGIA by the Chinese was 36 months from the start of the project in November 2019 and the completion date was November 2022. However, it is now revised to October 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which affected the progress of the project.
So far, China Airport Construction Group Co., Ltd. had worked out the revised timeline schedule of the NGIA project and informed the CAA about the delay through a letter carrying the subject ‘Revised Project Timeline Schedule of NGIA project’.
“Based on the discussion in the meeting and subsequent further meeting with a technical team of NGIA PCCA on the above subject, the Chinese General Construction Contractor has worked out the revised timeline schedule of NGIA Project,” said a letter from China Airport Construction Group Co., Ltd.
According to sources, under the revised timeline, work on air traffic control engineering will be completed by March 2023 while construction of passenger terminal building will be completed in June 2023 and Chinese have informed Pakistani authorities in this regard.
Sources also informed that a Parliamentary Committee on CPEC had taken notice of the delay in completion of the project (NGIA) and had directed in different meetings to deliberate the issue with the Chinese project team and ensure timely completion of the project within the original timeline.
“So far, several meetings between both sides (China & Pakistan) were held to deliberate the issue. However, the NGIA project is feared to be completed with a delay of one year,” said sources.
They added that the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) has reviewed it and further processed it to the Chinese Government (MoFCOM) through the Chinese Embassy, Islamabad.
It is pertinent to mention here that the grant agreement of the NGIA project was signed in May 2017 and the Prime Minister of Pakistan laid the foundation stone of this project in March 2019.
