RAWALPINDI, March 23: The new airport project has been put on the back burner, as the government is in two minds about the mode of its construction, sources said.

"At present the things are moving at a snail's pace. Hopefully, these would be back on the track," a source said. The project has been hit by a growing debate on whether the government should construct the new airport or get it constructed by the private sector on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

The sources said a number of private companies had expressed their interest in the project but the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) favoured construction of the airport by the government itself.

"After all, we cannot give such a prime asset to the private sector for a period as long as 20-25 years," an official said while commenting on the situation. The problem with the government is that it feels handicapped in constructing the new airport due to paucity of funds.

"The government may be in a position to get on with the work in a couple of years particularly in view of the country's improving finances," an official said.

Any final decision in this respect would be taken by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. The CAA would be giving a briefing to the PM on this issue sometime in May this year.

Apart from this, the government has yet to decide whether to make the new airport a hub of international air traffic or use it to meet the domestic requirements.

The aviation authorities are also discussing whether the Islamabad International Airport is sufficient for the aviation needs for the time being and postpone the new project till the country's economic situation improves significantly.

"The present airport is far better than many of the international airports in the world," an official said and added that it had been renovated recently. The issue of construction of airport has been of particular interest for those dealing in estate business.

Many people, after seeing the interest being shown by the CAA in going ahead with the project, have invested heavily in estate in the area around the proposed site for the new airport near Fathejang. Several housing societies have cropped up here and there promising a house near the new airport.