DERA GHAZI KHAN: The Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari Airport extension projects in Dera Ghazi Khan will be completed by Jan 2028, says Federal Minister Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari.

He inspected airport’s expansion project on Monday and received a briefing from the Civil Aviation Authority on the initiative.

Mr Leghari said the airport extension project would cost Rs5.5 billion. He said runway’s length would be increased to three km from present 1.9km. Its width would also be expanded from 100 feet to 200 feet.

“Modern lights will be installed to enable night landing. The expansion project also included waiting lounges and other travel facilities for passengers.”

The minister said work is underway on four major development projects in Dera Ghazi Khan, including the expansion of the Indus Highway.

He said Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is working on a cancer hospital project here.

He said work is also ongoing on a sewerage project in line with the divisional headquarters’ requirements for the next 50 years.

On the political front, the federal minister said the PML-N’s resolution regarding the creation of a south Punjab province already existed and consultations are ongoing within the party on the matter of an administrative unit.

bus terminals: Passengers are facing inconvenience due to the unresolved land allotment issue for D-class bus terminals in Dera Ghazi Khan and they have to pay higher fares while being deprived of the many mandatory facilities of a designated terminal, Dawn has learnt.

Sources claimed that when the city’s D-class terminal was shifted, it was decided that land would be leased to transporters on the same terms and conditions as those applicable to the Daewoo Bus Terminal.

However, an open auction was subsequently conducted, complicating the matter further without yielding any positive outcome. The bus services have been accommodated at the General Bus Stand, which reportedly lacks the facilities required for a D-class terminal.

Many transporters have already applied for renewal of their D-class terminal licences and requested the allotment of land adjacent to the General Bus Stand under the same terms and conditions as those being provided to the existing terminal of a private bus service. However, the decision on the matter remains pending for a long time.

Regional Transport Authority Secretary Nazar Muhammad Korai, while responding to a query, told this scribe that a fresh auction to lease land for the D-class terminal would be held soon.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2026