Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday granted approval for the launch of a new private airline from Sialkot International Airport.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, AirSial Chairman Fazal Jillani and other members of the local business community met with the prime minister and Minister for Privatisation and Aviation Muhammad Mian Soomro in Sialkot, Dar told DawnNewsTV.

The airline is to be launched through cooperation with local traders and businessmen. The chairman of AirSial said the airline would become operational within the next year.

The businessmen thanked the premier for the government's assistance in the launch of the airline.

The prime minister remarked that Sialkot is fast becoming a major hub for investment and that the government would provide additional facilities to the area.

"The airline's launch will create jobs and stimulate business activity in the region," the premier said.

The business community in Sialkot in 2009, after establishing the international airport in the export hub on a self-help basis, had decided to launch the airline to provide a cheaper travelling facility to the region's traders along domestic and international routes.

The airline was to be established under the joint supervision of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Sialkot International Airport.

The Sialkot business community has also planned to set up a food and vegetable processing/packing centre close to the airport to boost exports.

Exporters in Sialkot, in addition to construction of the airport, have also completed the construction of a dry port, export processing zone, small industrial estates and inter-city roads on a self-help basis under the city development package.