Sindh CM pledges support for Karachi airport expansion, new Sukkur airfield
KARACHI: Sindh will extend full cooperation to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) for its major aviation development package in the province, including a new greenfield airport in Sukkur and the expansion and modernisation of the Jinnah International Airport (JIAP) Karachi. This was stated by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday while chairing a meeting with a PAA delegation led by…
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah pledged full cooperation from the province for major aviation development projects, including a new greenfield airport in Sukkur and the expansion of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. The discussion took place during a meeting with the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) delegation led by Air Vice Marshal Zeeshan Saeed.
The CM directed provincial departments to expedite cooperation on land acquisition, land records, road connectivity, and regional development alignment for these initiatives. The ongoing Jinnah International Airport improvement project would see passenger areas upgraded with heritage-inspired design elements. The main runway was already extended from 3,200 meters to 3,500 meters, with further upgrades planned.
For the new Sukkur Airport, the PAA highlighted constraints at the existing Sukkur Airport, including airspace, land, and expansion issues. A new greenfield facility is proposed to serve as a regional gateway for upper Sindh, with a capacity for up to 1.6 million passengers annually. The feasibility study estimates a catchment population of over 29.6 million within a three-hour radius of the proposed site.
About 3,000 acres of land would be required, and the PAA sought the Sindh government's support for acquisition, potentially through a public-private partnership model.
The PAA also discussed upgrading Hyderabad Airport's runway to 11,500 feet, positioning it as a regional hub. Issues of mutation and encroachment on 1,473 acres of airport land needed to be resolved. The PAA also proposed converting the Civil Aviation Training Institute in Hyderabad into Pakistan's first dedicated aviation university, seeking a connecting road between Kotri and Hyderabad for the project.
Chief Minister Shah welcomed the university initiative, emphasizing that improved aviation infrastructure would strengthen connectivity between Sindh's cities, support trade and investment, and enhance passenger services.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
