Sardar Mehtab inaugurates Pakistan’s largest fuel farm facility

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Aviation Division, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan, inaugurated Pakistan’s largest and most advanced fuel farm facility at the New Islamabad International Airport (NIIAP) on Thursday.

The facility is jointly developed by Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the nation’s largest oil marketing company and Attock Petroleum Limited (APL), a progressive oil marketing company.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony as the chief guest, Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan said that the New Islamabad International Airport was the first Greenfield airport of the country and it would be operational for international and domestic flights during the ongoing month.

He said that the Airbus 380, the world's largest passenger jet could easily be landed at the New Islamabad Airport.

While acknowledging the leading public sector xompany of Pakistan, he said Pakistan State Oil had been fuelling the needs of the nation and driving the wheels of the national economy.

He said the fuel facility was a big step forward in effectively meeting the growing fuelling needs of the aviation industry and was all set to serve the largest airport in Pakistan.

He said this facility would not only set new benchmark for Pakistan’s aviation industry but also serve as a backbone to this airport, ushering in a new era of resilience and steadfastness.

“I appreciate the efforts of PSO and APL to serve the aviation industry by setting up this huge, state-of-the-art fuel farm facility. This shows some serious commitment from both players to their mission of ensuring seamless fuel supply to the aviation sector”, he added.

While congratulating the PSO and APL on this big achievement he assured that the Government would extend the best of its support to them in all endeavors, meant to positively impact Pakistan’s aviation sector and overall economic development.

On this occasion, MD and CEO PSO, Sheikh Imranul Haque, said that for decades, PSO had been fueling the nation adding, “today we have strengthened our leadership position further in responsibly meeting the fueling needs of the Pakistani aviation industry.”

“We feel extremely delighted and proud in launching the country’s largest and most advanced fuel farm facility at the largest and most advanced airport of Pakistan”, he said.

He also congratulated the Attock Petroleum Limited for the impressive joint feat where they utilized their own experience of developing state-of-the-art infrastructure for storage, handling, and delivery of petroleum products.

He said PSO stayed committed to its mission of ensuring a seamless supply of quality fuel products to every corner and industry of the country.

Group Chief Executive Attock Oil Group of Companies ans CEO APL, Shuaib Anwar Malik, said that the fuel farm facility was a huge step in the direction of efficiently fueling Pakistan’s aviation sector. “We are proud to indigenously set up this state-of-the-art facility that redefines aviation services within Pakistan”, he added.

Adviser to PM Sardar Mehtab also inspected the different sections of the fuel facility. A detailed briefing was given to him on this occasion. He was told that the fuel farm facility at NIIAP was equipped with robust storage capacity, maximum product pumping ability to refuel multiple aircraft in minimal time, latest detection, firefighting and alarm systems, which makes this facility most advance and largest fuel farm of the country. Fuel farm facility at NIIAP will be serving Pakistan’s largest airport and ensure smooth and efficient delivery of quality products.

He was also apprised that covering an area of 12 acres, the fuel farm facility was compliant with local and international standards including JIG, NFPA, API as well as the CAA for the receiving, storing, filtering, pumping, and testing of aviation fuels.

Furnished with a smart refueling system comprising of automation, safety interlocks, automatic detection and response, and quality control features, the fuel farm supports the hydrant refueling system of NIIAP which is Pakistan’s largest airport refueling system with a 14KM hydrant line of 14-inch diameter and 55 hydrant pits to fuel aircraft round-the-clock.

It was also briefed that the facility’s smooth operations are ensured by offloading bays equipped with 600 USGPM pumps, a storage capacity of 10,000 Metric Tons with 3 vertical API 650-compliant tanks, a 3,600 USGPM product pumping system, and highly advanced refueling equipment comprising 8 Hydrant Servicers.

The fuel farm also features modern monitoring and control systems such as Motor Control Center (MCC), Human Machine Interface and Digital Control System, Public Address System, main and back-up power supply, API Separator, and a test rig for aviation equipment.