RAWALPINDI: Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Director General Hassan Nasir Jamy has ordered an inquiry into the leakage at Islamabad International Airport, which caused parts of its false ceiling to have collapsed on Aug 14.

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan is likely to visit the airport on Monday (today) along with senior officers of the Aviation Division and CAA.

Aviation Division spokesman senior joint secretary Abdul Sattar Khokhar, in a press release on Sunday, said the CAA director general had taken notice of the damage and ordered an inquiry.

He said 56mm of rain fell in less than 90 minutes. The heavy rain, which continued till around 4am, was accompanied by 37 knots of wind.

“As a result, heavy leakage of water occurred at the concourse halls, domestic arrival lounge, CIP lounges and international departure area. False ceiling also fell at some locations,” the press release added.

Minister expected to visit airport today

The spokesman said Mr Jamy had sought a comprehensive report along with a permanent solution within three days.

He said that according to the airport manager and his maintenance staff, leakage occurred due to rain, which resulted in the overflow of drains on the rooftop of the passenger terminal building.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, there are multiple solutions under consideration, including adding more pipes for quick flushing of rainwater into multiple drains or changing the entire drainage design on the rooftop, the spokesman said.

Hassan Nasir Jamy, who is also aviation secretary, has directed the airport’s project director and manager to submit a joint report with a solution to this recurring problem.

Aviation Minister Sarwar Khan had also expressed concern over the quality of work and planning at the new airport carried out during the tenure of the previous government.

He said various inquiries — one by the FIA and the other by NAB — were being conducted on the alleged corrupt practices in the construction of the new airport.

One of the runways of the airport called the secondary runway — a parallel taxi track of the green-field airport — caved in in April 2019.

A CAA official had said the taxi runway was closed and a notice issued to airmen.

The new airport, which was built at a cost of Rs105 billion, became operational in May 2018. It has two runways — each 12,000 feet long and 150 feet wide — taxiways and aprons for wide-body aircraft.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2020