Test-flight successfully lands at Pakistan's Gwadar Airport

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

A calibration aircraft successfully has test-landed at the New Gwadar International Airport (NGIAP), a key milestone of the airport project, which is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of this year.

The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in a press release termed the successful test-landing of the aircraft an important milestone for the NGIAP.

It said that the calibration aircraft was welcomed to the airport with a customary water cannon salute by the Rescue and Firefighting Services Department of CAA.

The accomplishment is the result of the collaborative efforts of the Chinese and Pakistani project teams, the release said.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, wrote on  X  that Gwadar is on the path to becoming a world-class port city, brimming with growth and development opportunities.

The airport is projected to be completed and become operational by the end of the current year.

Its completion is likely to have a transformative impact on the development of Gwadar and its surrounding areas, as well as improve lives of the people of Balochistan province and the coastal region, the release said.

The China-aided New Gwadar International Airport in Pakistan has started carrying out a five-day flight test from Tuesday, marking that the project is about to enter the final sprint stage, the airport’s project management team said.

Being built over 4,300 acres of land, the airport, which will handle domestic and international flights, is an important part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an energy and infrastructure corridor between the two countries.

Work on the NGIAP and other mega projects in Gwadar has been going for the past few years.

It got a fillip during the tenure of the Shehbaz Sharif government. China has always taken a keen interest in early completion of the airport and other projects in Gwadar.

Meanwhile, in a separate development the Pakistan Coast Guards successfully intercepted a large consignment of high-quality hashish in the Jiwani area of Gwadar, Balochistan.

Acting on a tip-off, the forces seized 1,176 kilograms of hashish being smuggled in a single-cabin vehicle.