President General Pervez Musharraf inaugurated a new terminal at the Sui Airport built by Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) at a cost of nearly Rs 20 million. The simple inauguration ceremony was held on Thursday, when President Musharraf arrived in Sui on his first-ever visit to the area, where Pakistan's biggest and oldest natural gas field is located.
Asim Murtaza Khan, PPL's acting Managing Director, welcomed President Musharraf at the Sui Airport. Other senior PPL officials present on the occasion included Khalid Rahman, Deputy Managing Director (Finance & Admin) and M. Ahmad Manzer, General Manager Corporate Services.
Governor Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani, Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf, Corps Commander Quetta Lieutenant General Hamid Rab Nawaz and other senior government and military officials were also present at the ceremony.
After the inauguration, President Musharraf inspected the new terminal building and praised PPL's contribution in the development of the area. The small, but historic airport of Sui is not just a key transportation link between the PPL-operated Sui Gas Field and rest of the country, but also serves the local population.
The Sui Airport started its operations in 1962 from a mud-strip where only small aircraft once used to land. Since then, PPL has been maintaining and operating this airport.
As the commercial production from the Sui Gas Field increased and the number of local population living around grew, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) also started its operations here in November 1966, benefiting both the Company operations and the inhabitants of Dera Bugti. In 1990, PPL upgraded the first airport terminal building in Sui, in 1998 a metalled strip to facilitate flight operations replaced the mud airstrip.
In June 2004, miscreants destroyed the airport building with explosives, resulting in discontinuation of the PIA flights. However, chartered flights continued operation through a makeshift terminal even under the challenging circumstances. As the law and order situation improved in Sui and nearby areas, PPL started the construction of the new airport building, which has been equipped with all the modern facilities.
PPL acting MD Asim Murtaza Khan requested President Musharraf to facilitate the resumption of PIA flight operations to Sui for the benefit of all the inhabitants of this area.
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