Test flight lands at Sialkot International Airport
Pakistan Times National News Desk

SIALKOT: The first-ever test flight landed on Saturday at the Sialkot International Airport Limited [SIAL] which as per plan will start its full operation in 2006.

The Cargo flights however would be operational by June next, stated by Khawar Anwar Khawja the SIAL Chief Executive while briefing the media-men at the site office of the airport.

He said, almost 80 percent work of this mega project has been completed. The project was launched from the platform of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 2001 with a clear view to providing the much-needed facility of an international airport for the most heavily industrialized region of the country, forming the export-oriented golden triangle of Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat.

In two years time, SIAL has matured into a dynamic organization, turning a challenging task into a commercially feasible venture. Top businessmen of the area, comprising the company’s board manage the affairs of the company, ensuring the best utilization of resources and dividends on investment.

The Locale

Located in the center of Pakistan’s industrial hub, the SIAL is a viable private sector initiative which after receiving strong support from the Government of Pakistan made impressive progress in a short span of time. Khawaja thanked President, Prime Minister of Pakistan Chief Minister Punjab, and senior officials of Civil Aviation Authority for their kind cooperation.

He said: the airport will be the first ever to be built and operated by private sector—SIAL hopes to profit from the huge cargo market of industries around it and will be the natural first choice for the large number of air-travelers from the adjoining districts.

It will not only fulfill a long-felt need but also create new commercial avenues unexplored so far due to lack of direct and speedy access to the international market, he added.

In January 2003, construction work of international standard commenced at the airport runway measuring 3.6 km.

Khawar said that an amount of Rs 230 million was provided by the Government of Pakistan for land acquisition, and the entire land is now in possession of SIAL.
The 1004-acre site is about 14 km west of Sialkot with existing road links to Wazirabad, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Narowal, Sialkot city, Sialkot Export Processing Zone and Sialkot Dry Port.

Road Links

The new bridge over River Chenab would bring drive time to Gujrat down to 25 minutes. Work on a shorter route to Sialkot city is underway and a comprehensive scheme to improve the existing road links has been launched for speedier access, he added.

At present, airports at Lahore and lslamabad provide the facility to the project area, but both of them are too distant for the business community. The SIAL will bring an end to long delays, damage to goods or packing caused due to multiple handling, pilferage, security concerns and other losses.

The airport will also be a welcome convenience for local and foreign business executives and other air-travelers to visit Sialkot.

Besides its lucrative location, the viability of the project is greatly enhanced by a number of factors. It enjoys full backing of the Government of Pakistan and each aspect of the airport is in accordance with national and international regulations.

The Project

The airport plan, developed by SIAL with the expertise of NESPAK has been approved by the government and meets International Civil Aviation Organization standards, making many new markets and sectors accessible and generating more business.

SIAL engaged the expertise of NESPAK to develop the master plan of the project and after much deliberation and consultation, a fully integrated plan was finalized. The airport master plan envisages phased development of facilities—essential facilities to make the airport fully functional will be developed in Phase 1.

The runway of SIAL would be 3,600-meter long, 45-meter wide with 7.5-meter wide shoulders on either side. The chief executive said that Category 2 would be installed at the SIAL, which would be extendable to Category 3 in the long-run, for passengers and cargo, that is 45,000-sq meter area; in-parking for 4 wide-bodied aircraft at a time or 3 Airbus plus 3 F-27 aircraft at a time could be parked.

Significantly, the city of Sialkot is the home town of the globally-admired and venerated great Poet of the East Allama Muhammed Iqbal [RA].●