PESHAWAR, Jan 13: Peshawar airport's refurbished runway and taxiway have become operational for wide-body aircraft after completion of a $4 million foreign-funded project, officials said.

The project - involving upgradation of the 9,000-foot-long runway strip, construction of a new taxiway and extra apron - was carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority with the financial support of Emirates airlines.

The airline provided financial support to bring down its operational cost on the Peshawar-Dubai route. "The airline's A-330 wide-body aircraft began operating on the Peshawar-Dubai route from Jan 8 and its second flight, EK-635 boarding 226 passengers, took off on Tuesday," an official said.

Investment in the Peshawar airport would help the foreign airline to record considerable saving on the Peshawar-Dubai route on which, previously, it was operating A-310 wide body aircraft taken on rent after phasing out its fleet of smaller airliners.

" With the strengthening of the runway it has become usable for much larger aircraft," said a well placed source, adding that "even B-353 and B-434 could land and take off from Peshawar".

However, these airliners with larger seating capacity could not be operated from here because the lounge of the Peshawar airport, said the source, lacked the capacity to cater for the needs of more than 260 passengers. Similarly, the second taxi way, involving total length of around 300 meters, would enhance the operational capability of the Peshawar airport.