The government has approved the New Gwadar International Airport project in principle, the project will be built at a cost of Rs55.4 billion.

As per media reports, the cost is about 147 percent higher than the first revision. Furthermore, the government has also sanctioned a reduction in the scope of a vital Gwadar road scheme.

The decisions were taken by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), as Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jehanzeb Khan chaired the CDWP meeting.

As per details, the New Gwadar International Airport project would be built with the help of Pakistan government funds and a Chinese grant of 1.52 billion yuan that translates into Rs34 billion, whereas the total cost of the project is Rs55.4 billion.

The mega project has been called a harbinger of development of Gwadar city and port, by China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman retired Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa.

Whereas, Gwadar is the epicenter of China’s $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor of energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan. The plan for Gwadar includes turning it into a trans-shipment hub and megaport to be built alongside special economic zones that will connect the deepwater Gwadar port to China’s western regions.

It is pertinent to mention that back in 2010, the original Gwadar airport project had been approved at a cost of Rs7.5 billion and the revised one was cleared after 15 years in 2015 at a cost of Rs22.2 billion. Whereas, the newly approved second revision of the project with a cost of Rs55.4 billion is higher by Rs33 billion or 147 pc than the 2015 cost.