Benazir Bhutto International Airport — ontime Ist phase completion
Farooq Rehmatullah, the sitting DG CAA, must be the happiest man for on time 100 per cent completion of the First Phase of the New International Airport Islamabad (NIIA). He and his team deserve appreciation for the commitment given to the nation for rapid completion of all steps of this mega project which is being named Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad. The target was achieved within a short span of almost one year. The DG CAA during the ground-breaking ceremony of the airport had committed that the mega project shall be completed within three years. The on-time completion of the first phase of the project shows that his commitment shall be honoured and the project will be completed on time.
As per details about Rs900 million have been spent on this first step which
included cut and filling process of 2.273km access road and 3.675km long run way. Work on the
second phase which includes airside infrastructure has also been started at the site. The completion has also shuttered down the rumours that the NIIA project may not be completed and that the government may disband the project. CAA authorities rightly claim that the
entire project will be completed within the stipulated time. “We are committed to completing the task of the construction of this airport on time insha Allah,” Brig Iftakhar Ali (retd), the chief Project Director of the CAA, vowed.
This international airport for which the president of Pakistan performed ground- breaking ceremony on April, 7 2007 is a grassroots airport with state-of-art facilities. It is located at Pind Ranjha about 30km southwest of the federal capital Islamabad, at the boundary of districts Rawalpindi and Attock. The airport and its infrastructure will be built on about 3,200 acres of land .This will be a state-of-art airport with modular facilities for both domestic and international passengers and cargo capacity to accommodate the projected ultimate demand to handle 25 million passengers per annum.
In order to save time the CAA has proceeded as per the implementation plan which includes appointment of project management and design consultants, award of site preparatory work, preparation and approval of the design, prequalification of contractors through the international press, preparation of tender documents and invitation of tenders under separate packages.
Package No 1 which has been awarded to M/s LganñHusnain (J/V) includes airside infrastructure and Package No 2 which includes pile foundation work of terminal building is under tender action. Similarly, Package No 3 includes terminal building superstructure and which also is under tender action.M/s Louis Berger Group of the United State of America declared the successful bidder was appointed project management consultant in February 2006. They have already completed the master plan, feasibility study and design vetting. In March last year M/s ADPi, a French company and M/s CPG of Singapore were selected for designing of airport infrastructure and terminal building of the airport respectively. The CAA has already approved the design concept.
Based on the estimated project cost worked out by project management consultant, a PC-1, amounting to Rs37 billion has been approved which includes airside infrastructure, design preparation, etc landside infrastructure and consultancy charges, etc. PC-II amounting to Rs1,209 million also was approved by the CAA DWP and the CAA Board last year.
In the meantime, on the recommendation of the CAA for
three entry/exist points the NHA has appointed consultants for preparation/submission of PC-1 and design activities. A NHA source has confirmed that it will take six months after finalisation of routes. They say that selection of route of approach roads to new Islamabad airport site is in the final stage subject to concurrence from the CDA and the RDA.
The CAA also requested the NHA to include link road from Fateh Jang Road to the NIIA site, in the phase-1 of the approach road to the NIIA which the NHA has confirmed that the consultant has been advised to include the said road in phase-1.
Sources in the NHA has presumed that the
Kashmir Highway in its present form will not be able to serve the expected traffic of approximately 25 million passengers/well wishers/greeters per annum or 34,000 vehicles per day, from Islamabad to the NIIA. The CDA is planning actively for
upgradation of the Kashmir Highway into a four-lane Dual Carriageway High Speed Dedicated Signal Free Expressway on an emergency basis so that by the completion of NIIA the Kashmir-Expressway should be ready to serve the NIIA as the main road link. This shall definitely help the incoming and outgoing traffic and shall also give extra relief to the traffic police as well.
It has been decided the
first time in the history of Pakistan that provision of railway may be extended to the new Islamabad airport so that people should avail of this facility as well to approach the airport.
Aviation circles in the country are giving special importance to this mega project and they are of the view that due to current performance and rapid work the project will be completed within the stipulated time and it will open new doors for aviation activities in the country.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
By Obaid ur Rehman Abbasi
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=129827
