December 11, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 30, 1428

SIALKOT, Dec 10: Pakistan’s first ever private airport is to be inaugurated on Tuesday (today) by Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in Sialkot. The Sialkot International Airport (SIAL) is a community-based project that was completed on a Build, Own and Operate (BOO) basis by the exporters of Sialkot, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The CAA will act as the regulatory body and will provide necessary technical support during the airport’s operation.

The construction of the airport first began in 2001 after approval by Gen Pervez Musharraf and the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).

The site of the SIAL spans across 1,050 acres and is 14km west of Sialkot within existing road links to Wazirabad, Gujrat, Narowal, Sialkot city, Sialkot Export Processing Zone and Sialkot Dry Port, where a large travel population is situated, who are frequent flyers within and outside Pakistan.

The facilities of the airport include passengers terminal building, a cargo complex, passengers car parking and cargo truck parking area, an ATC tower, FCR building, a mosque, an administration block and an ASF camp.