New Gwadar International Airport

Not to be confused with Gwadar International Airport.

The New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) is under-construction airport in Gwadar, Pakistan. The airport is expected to be country's biggest when completed and be inaugurated by the Chinese leader Xi Jinping.^[1] Occupying 4,300 acres (17 km²) of land, it is located in Gurandani, 26 km north-east of the existing airport in Gwadar City on the south-western Arabian Sea coast of Balochistan region. NGIA is expected to cost $246 million. It is fully funded by China as a grant.^[2][3][4]

New Gwadar Airport
Gwadar Airport Under construction in 2022
IATA: GWD ICAO: OPGD
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Joint venture between Pakistan, Oman, and China
Operator	Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA)
Serves	Gwadar, Pakistan
Location	Gwadar-91200, Pakistan
Coordinates	25°17′51″N 062°30′03″E / 25.29750°N 62.50083°E / 25.29750; 62.50083

After New Islamabad International Airport, NGIA will be the second greenfield airport of Pakistan that will be capable of providing landing facility for Airbus A380.

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) is responsible for overseeing its management and operation, and its ownership will be shared among a collaborative effort involving Pakistan, Oman, and China. This airport is designed to facilitate both domestic and international flights.^[5]

History

The airport project was launched as a swiftly achievable, high-priority initiative within the CPEC program in 2014.^[6] Former PM Imran Khan had laid the foundation of NGIA on 29 March 2019.^[7][8] This greenfield airport will include a modern terminal building alongside a cargo terminal, with refrigeration facilities for perishable items, with an initial handling capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year. NGIA will have the capacity to accommodate wide-body aircraft including Airbus A380 & Boeing 747-8 and narrow-body aircraft such as ATR-72 & Boeing 737-900ER.^[9][10][11]

On 1 August 2023, the National Assembly of Pakistan adopted a resolution to change the name of the New Gwadar International Airport to honor Feroz Khan Noon. The initiative was put forth by Aliya Kamran, Rana Qasim Noon, and Sabir Hussain Qaimkhani during the assembly session. Additionally, the assembly approved another resolution urging the government to rename the Gwadar International Airport in tribute to Feroz Khan Noon. This decision was rooted in recognising his instrumental role in securing Gwadar for Pakistan through an agreement with the Sultanate of Oman during his tenure as Prime Minister.^[12]

Runway

The airport will have a single runway with 3,658 metres of length and a width of 75 metres that will have the capacity to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft. There will be a taxiway of 23 metres length alongside a 10.5 metre paved shoulders for both sides.^[4] The airport would have the capacity to build a second runway to the north of the first runway. An Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower, crash, fire and rescue facilities will be built as well as a fuel farm.

The Civil Aviation Authority had awarded the design to build contract of the new airport to the China Communications Construction Company (CCC), which is expected to be completed in August 2024 ^[13] and opened in September 2024.^[14][15][16]

Construction

The New Gwadar International Airport will be constructed at a cost of Rs55.4 billion, completely funded as a grant by China.^[17]

References

1. "Chinese President Xi to Inaugurate Gwadar Airport". Yes Property Force. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
2. "Construction work on Gwadar airport to begin in April". www.thenews.com.pk. 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
3. "New Gwadar International Airport, Pakistan". Airport Technology. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
4. https://www.caapakistan.com.pk/upload/News/pdf/29032019-1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
5. http://aviation.gov.pk/ProjectDetail/M2QzOWJmMjUtZTU3MC00NmFkLWE4YmMtZDFhMmRlOGU2NGRh
6. May 20, 2022 (2022-05-20). "New Gwadar international Air port to be operational by 2023". Daily Times. Retrieved 2023-08-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
7. "Prime Minister Open Work On New Gawadar Airport". UrduPoint. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
8. "Pakistan's Gwadar International Airport will be the largest in the country". gulfnews.com. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
9. "Development of Gwadar will benefit entire world: PM". www.radio.gov.pk. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
10. "New Gwadar International Airport | China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Official Website". cpec.gov.pk. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
11. Zafar, Mohammad (2019-03-29). "Imran launches work on mega projects in Balochistan". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
12. "NA passes resolution to rename Gwadar International Airport after Feroz Khan Noon".
13. "New Gwadar International Airport | China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Official Website". cpec.gov.pk. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
14. "Test flights from New Gwadar International Airport likely to be started from 23rd". Nation. March 10, 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
15. "Purchase of Gwadar". 18 December 2018.
16. "NA resolution calls for renaming Gwadar airport". Tribune.com.pk. 2023-08-06. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
17. Rana, Shahbaz (2020-10-12). "Gwadar International Airport project okayed". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2020-10-15.