Even top officials of divisions of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confessed that the site of the airport, on which billions of rupees had already been spent, was improper and for this, an inquiry had been referred to the FIA.
The PAC was surprised when it was informed that the link road to the new airport from Islamabad to Rawalpindi had been started, and after coming into power, the PML-N government planned a 19-km-long new link road from Islamabad whose cost estimate was Rs30 billion, which was in addition to the project of the new Islamabad airport.
The PAC held its meeting here on Monday with its Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah in the chair.The PAC stopped the CAA from planning to acquire an additional 1,700 acre land having an estimated cost of more than Rs8.5 billion for the third runway of the new Islamabad airport that would be constructed after 20 years to deal with projected increase in air traffic.
The PAC raised a question over the project of the new Islamabad Airport when it was said that in the original plan of the airport, no facility was provided for the telecommunication network, no road link was planned, the site area of the new airport was barren without underground water and even the consultancy was given to a firm that did not have a qualified engineer. “If this airport was constructed in such a way, it would be the world’s ninth wonder,” remarked PAC Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah.
The CAA officials said that the prime minister had approved the project of 19-km-long road link to the new Islamabad Airport at an estimated cost of Rs30 billion in which the major part would be spent for acquiring the land which will be 600 metres wide. At first, the road would be widened by 100 metres and later, it would be widened further.
The PAC sought details of owners of the land, which came under the project of 19-km-long road link to the new airport, from the National Highway Authority (NHA).
PAC Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah questioned the reason for spending a hefty amount on the road instead of linking the new airport through a four-km-long road with the Kashmir Highway.
The top NHA officials failed to justify the new project saying that no final estimation was made and no process of land acquisition had been started yet.
Syed Khursheed Shah was astonished at the estimates of the new road link project and asked whether there was any other country where Rs1 billion were spent on one kilometre of road. “This money belongs to the people of Pakistan and it has not to be looted or plundered,” he observed.
PAC member Abdul Manan remarked that the width of the Motorway was 100 metres but a road link to the new airport was being constructed at 600 metres. He questioned whether the registeries of the land were acquired or not and on what rate.
The NHA officials replied that the Punjab Revenue Department got the rates and 130 metres of land near the Hajj complex would be a commercial area while the other was the agricultural land. “The commercial land’s rate is Rs20 million per kanal and agricultural land’s rate was Rs600,000 per kanal,” the NHA official stated.
The PAC chairman questioned about the traffic load of the road link to the new airport on which the top officials of the CAA failed to come up with estimates.
Syed Khursheed Shah stated that around 17,000 vehicles used the Motorway. He asked for an estimate of traffic volume in the next 30 years but the CAA gave no steady reply.Shah also asked whether the consultancy firm that was hired for the new airport knew the site was selected for the airport was not proper.
Secretary Civil Aviation Division Mohammad Ali Gardezi told the committee that the prime minister had referred the enquiry to FIA, at which the committee directed the FIA officials present to include this aspect in the enquiry.
The CAA officials had no answers for the question put up by Shah about the average time of landing and taking off of flights at the airport as well as the frequency of landing and taking off of aircraft.
On the issue of provision of water, the CAA officials told the committee that the site of the new airport and the surrounding area did not have water facility as the land was barren.
They said that the airport required 2 million gallons of water daily and the CAA was undertaking construction of a sustainable dam with coordination of the Punjab Small Dams Organisation after completion of feasibility studies and detailed designs to meet the long term water requirements of the airport.
They stated that four mini dams would be constructed within the premises of airport, under the supervision of DG ABAD and to meet the emergent water requirements pertaining to testing and commissioning of equipment presently being installed at the airport.
When Shah enquired about the 50-year data on average rate of rain in the area, the CAA officials said that they had no relevant data.The CAA officials gave reasons for the delay in the construction of the new Islamabad airport that included delay in the appointment of design-consultant, poor performance of project management consultant M/S LBG, non-availability of access road to NBBIAP site, non-possession of site and eviction of illegal occupants, improper sequencing of award of work packages resulting in serious coordination and interfacing issues between work packages, termination of non-performing work packages telecom and network i.e. power distribution and ATC, FCR and Radio and radar building, delay in design of passenger terminal building due to various design changes and value engineering studies resulting in substantial delay in award of this work package, delay in provision of peripheral services (Road Network, Water and Electricity) preventing testing of various completed facilities, award of remaining work packages i.e. Package-4, 5 and 9 e.g. airport special systems, furniture/fixtures, signage, counters and Aircraft Stand Equipment.
Khursheed Shah raised the issue of non-payment of dues of Rs1.2 billion by a private airline to the CAA.The CAA director general said that after assuming the charge, he summoned the chief operating officer of the airline and asked him to clear the dues on which the airline cleared the dues of Rs1 billion and Rs160 million of surcharge still was to be recovered from the airline. He said the airline requested for waving off the surcharge but he rejected it.
Shah asked about the remaining dues of Rs160 million on which the DG CAA said that the private airline defaulted in 2004 and 10-year payment plan was approved under which Rs160 million of surcharge was still not paid.Khursheed Shah directed the CAA to recover the amount with interest.
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