New Islamabad International Airport Project

[Abbas Ali]

Pakistan Customs wrote two letters to Pakistan CAA about building with cracks at Islamabad International Airport but did not get reply.




Building with cracks shown earlier this month on Express News channel.


Repaired crack.

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[Abbas Ali]

Cartoon in December 16 edition of English daily 'Pakistan Today' about building with cracks at Islamabad International Airport.



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[Abbas Ali]

According to news sources:



DG CAA has taken notice of high-risk and hazardous building of air freight unit at Islamabad International Airport and formed a committee for investigation. Action will be taken against people who showed negligence.







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[Abbas Ali]

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) tender notice in December 17 newspaper for taxiway lights at new Islamabad International Airport.



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[umar744]

ALL any kind of type different all building anywhere in world always problem crack because of building movement, underground solid, landslide, due to nature land. if proof of earthquake should be strong better building by Japan but Germany is good quality better than China quality. In New Istanbul airport are 100% earthquake proof. Most home, apartment, office, hotel still have some crack and can repair fix it.

[Pakistan-1]

According to news sources:



DG CAA has taken notice of high-risk and hazardous building of air freight unit at Islamabad International Airport and formed a committee for investigation. Action will be taken against people who showed negligence.







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The building is on the verge of collapse

[Abbas Ali]

Inquiry committee looking into state of customs cargo building at Islamabad International Airport

12/17/2018

RAWALPINDI: The Director General (DG) of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has constituted an inquiry committee to look into complaints about cracks in the customs cargo building also known as the airfreight unit at Islamabad International Airport.

A spokesperson for the CAA said in a statement released on Sunday that following news regarding cracks in the building, the director general had already constituted a committee to look into the matter and point out the individuals whose leniency resulted in cracks appearing in the building.

The statement said: `A high powered inquiry committee has been constituted by the DG CAA and in case of any lapse in work the responsible will be dealt accordingly.

Customs authorities had already informed the CAA and the Islamabad International Airport project director that the airfreight unit was in shabby and dangerous condition.

In a letter to the concerned authorities, a customs official said the building bore large cracks that were widening every day. The condition of the building made it an insecure place to work.

The CAA has provided customs staff an alternate space after they complained about the cracks in the building, the spokesperson said.

Source: DAWN

[Abbas Ali]

NAB team visits Islamabad International Airport, dilapidated Customs building

By Mohammad Asghar | 12/20/2018

RAWALPINDI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team looking into allegations of corruption in the construction of Islamabad International Airport completed its inspection of the airport after checking the airport special system and baggage handling system.

Sources said the NAB team also visited the Customs cargo building also known as the airfreight unit that was evacuated after it began caving in and took photographs of the cracks and other parts of the building.

They said NAB did not ask airport authorities about the building, but they wanted to see it after news appeared in the press about the state of the new building.

The team visited the airport on Monday and Tuesday, where they inquired about the airport`s special system comprising CCTV, flight information, WiFi, two-way radio, SIMS, ACS and a public address system.

On Tuesday they inspected the airport`s baggage handling and collected data on both systems. They also took with them the material inspection report (MIR), which is prepared when imported machinery is examined after it is received by the concerned authorities.

Sources said that although the NAB team was not fully aware of technical matters, they visited the airport`s project office and examined documents relating to both systems.

A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said NAB`s visit had nothing to do with the CAA.

The CAA director general has already ordered an investigation into the cracks in the Customs cargo building and staff have been provided with an alternate space.

A Customs official said the airfreight unit office was shifted to the new building on May 1, two days before Islamabad International Airport was formally opened for flight operations. Small cracks began appearing after three months, and then widened every day.

Customs authorities were provided an alternate space for their offices after they informed the airport`s management, but they have claimed this is insufficient for them to operate smoothly.

Islamabad International Airport was built at an estimated cost of Rs105 billion, compared to an initial cost of Rs81.1bn, and made operational on May 3, 2018.

Source: DAWN

[Abbas Ali]

Abdullah Malik

JANUARY 14, 2019

Cracks have appeared in the most premier building of the Customs Department, which may collapse anytime.

A four-member inquiry board headed by Deputy Director General of Airport Services Syed Amir Mehboob and comprising Director Projects Lahore Airport Siddiqur Rehman, Manager Peshawar Airport Ubaid-ur-Rehman and Senior Deputy Director Kamal Khan was formed but still the inquiry report had not been prepared.

A credible source, wishing to remain unnamed, in the Civil Aviation Authority, told Daily Times that the building had collapsed due to poor engineering and designing.

The source added that the soil of the tarmac was used in the filling process before the construction of the building.

“We have observed various engineering and designing faults in the building,” said an engineer, who inspected the building after it developed cracks.

When contacted, another senior official of the Civil Aviation Authority, said that the building was inaugurated in a haste. “The government wanted early inauguration of the project that was why the compaction process was avoided while constructing the building.

He, however, did not reply when Daily Times asked him whether the compaction was avoided in one building or others as well.

Farah Hussain, the spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority, said that the cracks had appeared in the building. She said an inquiry committee headed by experts had been constituted to investigate the faults inside the building.

She added that when the inquiry report would be shared will be shared with the media.

Source: Daily Times

[Abbas Ali]

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) subcommittee decides in principle on forensic audit of Islamabad International Airport project

Ikram Junaidi

Updated January 17, 2019

ISLAMABAD: With the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) saying it needs six months to determine the law under which to file a reference, a subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee has decided in principle to carry out a forensic audit of the Islamabad International Airport.

The subcommittee, which is led by PTI MNA Syed Fakhar Imam, has also directed the auditor general to determine whether delays in the project were caused by the contractor or the government.

The audit department has said it is quite capable of carrying out the audit as it is already auditing a private firm on Supreme Court orders, but would officially consent after a week.

While discussing delays in the escalation in cost for the airport from Rs37 billion to Rs105bn, the subcommittee was informed that the PAC has already referred some audit objections to NAB. However, a NAB official said the bureau would need six months to determine under which law it should file its reference, for which it will also consult with law experts at universities.

PML-N MNA Rana Tanveer Hussain said the six month wait would be too long, adding: “When you want to file references or take action against politicians you don’t even take a month to do it.”

Pakistan Engineering Council Chairman Jawed Salim Qureshi intervened in the discussion and said that in other countries, forensic audits are used to fix responsibility in such cases.

He added that here, government departments “ try to accept responsibility to protect the contractor from fines”.

Forensic audits investigate why a project was delayed and who was responsible, he said, adding: “It is inquired from the government department if it asked the contractor why the project was delayed and what the contractor’s reply was.”

Mr Qureshi also alleged that the project cost was deliberately stated to be Rs37bn instead of Rs81bn so “small and incompetent companies would be able to win the contract”.

Audit Works (Federal)Director General Mohammad Azhar told the subcommittee earlier that four inquiries have been conducted over delays in the completion of the airport.

“The ground-breaking of the project was held on April 7, 2007, and the project had to be completed within 30 months. However, at the time of the ground-breaking ceremony, the design of the project was not ready and even the PC-I was not approved. Even after 18 months, work on the runway was done again as work done at the time of the ground-breaking was destroyed,” he said.

Mr Azhar said that while the initial cost of the project was Rs37bn, a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) report had revealed that a number of components were not included in the project. The realistic cost of the project, he said, was Rs81bn.

“However even that price escalated and reached over Rs105bn. We have raised a number of objections and even the FIA report shows that our objections were correct,” he said.

An Aviation Division official attributed the increase in cost to the decision to upgrade technology, and the foreign exchange conversion rate.

The official said the SC took note of the issue in September 2013, after which retired Lt Gen Shahid Nawaz carried out an inquiry and a review committee, headed by Shamsul Mulk, also looked into the matter.

The IIA project was conceived of in 1984, and the procurement of land near Fateh Jang began the same year. Land was bought for Rs30,000 per kanal to Rs500,000 per kanal, averaging Rs70,000 per kanal.

A stone-laying ceremony was held in 2004, and construction began without the approval of any design. Construction projects were also awarded at the same time to 17 contractors.

The initial Rs37bn PC-I was approved in 2008, which did not include the fuel system, radar and radio control building, aprons for planes, sewerage treatment plant, electricity or the availability of water.

In order to resolve the issue of water availability, it was decided to build two dams – Ramma and Kassana – at a cost of approximately Rs1.7bn to provide 3.3 million gallons of water per day.

Source :DAWN

[Abbas Ali]

Tender notices in January 18 newspaper:

To establish, operate and maintain Transit Hotel at Islamabad International Airport on area measuring 10,764 square yards and reserve price PKR 19,000/- per square yard for a period of thirty years on lease basis (renewable for another term of 30 years on mutual consent).



To establish, operate and maintain Petrol Pump with allied facilities at Islamabad International Airport on an area measuring 4,532 square yards for a period of thirty years, on lease basis (renewable for another term of 30 years on mutual consent).



To establish, operate and maintain Cold Storage facility at Islamabad International Airport on an area measuring 1,600 square yards and reserve price PKR 13,500/- per square yard for a period of thirty years, on lease basis (renewable for another term of 30 years on mutual consent).

To establish, operate and maintain Restaurant at Islamabad International Airport on an area measuring 477 square yards and reserve price PKR 19,000/- per square yard for a period of thirty years, on lease basis (renewable for another term of 30 years on mutual consent).



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[Abbas Ali]

Naming of Islamabad International Airport After Benazir Bhutto Proposed at PAC Meeting

Today, at Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Member National Assembly (MNA) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf proposed naming of Islamabad International Airport after former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Chairman PAC MNA Shehbaz Sharif who belongs to Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) agreed with the proposal.

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[Abbas Ali]

PAC agrees to rename NIIA after Benazir Bhutto”s name

ABDUL RASHEED AZAD

FEB 1ST, 2019

ISLAMABAD - The members of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Thursday jointly agreed to rename New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA) after former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto''s name. The PAC met here with Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif in the chair. The meeting reviewed and discussed grants approved for Airport Security Force (ASF) and Civil Aviation Authority as well as related matters including delay in completion of the NIIA. The auditor general of Pakistan (AGP) pointed out massive irregularities in accounts of CAA and ASF.

The meeting discussed the name of the New Islamabad International Airport, which was inaugurated in May 2018. There was agreement among the members that the new airport should also be called Benazir Bhutto International Airport in honour of the assassinated premier. The AGP has recently told the PAC that due to long delay the construction cost of airport project has overrun by over Rs 68 billion.

However, it was suggested that the mismanagement and irregularities that are being reported at the airport should be resolved before resolving its renaming issues.

At the conclusion of the meeting, PTI''s Noor Alam Khan complained to the PAC chairman that the members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were given preference in giving their input during the meeting. The panel was informed that a grant worth Rs 21 million was approved for the Civil Aviation Division for the year 2011-12, during the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) tenure.

The auditors informed the meeting that the supplementary grant was never approved by the Parliament, despite the fact that it comes under the Finance Ministry''s responsibilities to get the approval as per law.

They also shed light on five acres of land that belonged to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in Karachi and were leased to a private party in 1992, resulting in financial damage worth over Rs 5 billion. The PML-N member of the National Assembly (MNA) Rana Tanveer Hussain suggested imposing a ban on grants while observing that expenditures preceded approvals, which is a blatant disregard of law.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Syed Fakhar Imam said that the extent of the Parliament''s power regarding money bill and grants needs to be determined, while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) leader Shahida Akthar Ali and PPP leader Sherry Rehman opined that grants can be sought according to needs.

Shahida Akhtar was tasked with the responsibility to head an inquiry committee to probe into the matter of five acres of CAA land in Karachi which was leased to a private party in 1992 and resulted in losses of over Rs 5 billion to the national kitty.

Following this, the PAC chairman ordered that audit complaints of Rs 50 million or more would be reviewed and discussed by the main PAC, while those below the said amount would be forwarded to a supplementary audit committee. Shehbaz said that the issue of the mini-budget is an important one that needs an efficient and effective solution.

On this, Finance Minister Asad Umar informed the meeting that the federal cabinet has been keeping a record of all matters related to mini-budget since October 15, 2018, according to the Supreme Court orders. He assured that the government is aware of issues in the system and would be paying special attention to solving them

After the PAC meeting when reporters asked Shehbaz about Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid''s efforts to become a member of the PAC, he did not comment. "At the PAC when records of Islamabad Airport showed the original name of ''New Benazir Bhutto International Airport'' all members endorsed our advice to revert to the right name of airport. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto is our country''s pride," Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted after the meeting.

Source: brecorder.com

[Abbas Ali]

In February 8 newspaper:

Corrigendum

Business Opportunities at Islamabad International Airport

Reference advertisement published in 18th January 2019 newspaper at Serial Number 2 regarding to establish, operate & maintain Restaurant at Islamabad International Airport.

The area mentioned in respect of Restaurant at para 1 of above referred tender may please be read as 1,433 square yards instead of 477 square yards. Accordingly, date for submission of tender documents is extended up to 28th February 2019. Rest of conditions shall remain same.

To establish, operate and maintain Restaurant at Islamabad International Airport on an area measuring 477 square yards and reserve price PKR 19,000/- per square yard for a period of thirty years, on lease basis (renewable for another term of 30 years on mutual consent).

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[Abbas Ali]