FROM its very inception — starting with the choice of site for the new Islamabad airport in 2007 — the soil survey report was ignored and two specific contractors were given the tenders without evaluating the competence of the regulator, namely the Civil Aviation Authority, to monitor and supervise project. This was doomed to be semi functional.

After one of original contractors withdrew and was replaced by a firm that lacked expertise in the construction of commercial airports, there have been numerous delays and rise in cost with no obvious penalty to contractors. It was the CAA and the relevant ministry whom were responsible for approving the design and choice of contractors.

The new Islamabad airport was designed for two parallel runways, capable of simultaneous departures and arrivals to meet the expected growth requirements, especially after the opening of airspace by former Soviet Union, which places Islamabad on the path of busy air routes used by airlines from South East Asia and the Far East on their flights to Europe and beyond.

The mandatory separation of 1,000 metres between two parallel runways for use by commercial civil aviation was reduced to 225 metres, which may be sufficient for military operations but unsafe to meet regulatory requirements for commercial airports.

Over Rs30 billion has gone down the drain. As usual two junior engineers were made a scapegoat instead of those who approved the design.

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommends airport operators to hire services of competent independent professionals with qualifications and experience in the construction and operations of commercial civil airports. For performing the task of monitoring flight operations and maintenance the ICAO recommends that the regulator must have services of qualified inspectors with no conflicts of interest.

Commercial aviation is a specialised field which is subjected to regulatory control of the state of registration and every other country where an aircraft flies over or lands, unlike military aviation which works under command and control structure.

Tariq Malik

Lahore

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2019