Project Director Islamabad International Airport Masood Salam on Friday said that the new Islamabad international airport equipped with modern and state of the art facilities would be completed in four years.
Talking to a TV channel, he said it would bigger than Lahore and Karachi airports and the structure of the building would depict Islamabad's culture. 30,200 acres land has been acquired for the airport, while fencing of the land has already been completed, he added.
The construction work will start in June 2008, while the ground levelling has already been started at a cost of around Rs 1.5 billion, he said adding the contract for this project has been given to an American company, which will complete the initial project in eighteen months.
Masood Alam said that the estimated cost for construction of new airport is Rs 24 billion and the funds would be provided by Civil Aviation Authority. Immediate target is to handle 0.1 million tons cargo by 2010 and it would be the second one after Hong Kong in Asia regarding cargo handling. It would be linked with M1 and M2 having facilities of the motorways, he added.
Alam said the area would be developed commercially. He said that they would follow the international standards for the construction of airport and maintain quality, adding the CAA would be responsible for its maintenance.
He recommended that the new airport area be declared special zone and CDA laws be implemented there. The construction of new Islamabad airport would generate thousands of job opportunities, he added.