Engineering Post Report
Construction of the new Gwadar International Airport , which is undertaken by the Aviation Division of the Federal Government , under the supervision and management of the Civil Aviation Authority has suffered from cost escalation yet another time and its pace of implementation is also pretty slow.
Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) had last approved in at a cost of Rs 51298.175 million including foreign aid of Rs .34470.063 million.
Against this high cost , only Rs 3928.314 million had been reported spent by end June 2023 and provision of another Rs 8000.000 million including foreign aid of Rs 5000.000 has been provided for its continued implementation during the current financial year 2023-24 under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Due to slow implementation and other factors, cost of this important project has escalated further to more than Rs 60 billion. Third cost escalation of the project was considered by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in its recent meeting in Islamabad and it was recommended for consideration and approval by ECNEC at a higher cost of Rs60 billion.
It is pertinent to mention here that the since dissolved National Assembly had adopted a resolution to change the name of New Gwadar International Airport as Feroze Khan Noon International Airport as a tribute to the former prime minister as a result of whose efforts Gwadar had become part of Pakistan in December 1958 and was previously part of Sultanate of Oman. The agreement was signed on September 8, 1958 and Pakistan paid a substantial amount to the Sultan of Oman.
