New Gwadar International Airport set to go green

The New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) is expected to go green in the wake of a new decision to launch the “Green Coverage Initiative,” satisfying BRI’s worldwide greener practices promise. On June 23, a comprehensive meeting of the Civil Aviation Authority, the Gwadar Development Authority, and the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) was held.

According to Gwadar Pro on Monday, trees would be planted on the NGIA’s more than 3-kilometer-long entrance and departing roads in the first phase. In the second phase, tree plants will be cultivated on designated airport patches to help the green environment in the NGIA’s 4,300-acre area.

According to a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official, the majority of the plants will be taken from the Plant Tissue Culture Lab and Green House, which are integral parts of the Belt and Road Engineering Research Centre for Tropical Arid Non-Wood Forest built and run in collaboration with the Central South University of Forestry and Technology, the China Overseas Port Holding Company Limited, and the Yulin Holding Company Limited in the Gwadar Port Free Zone area.

According to the official, Gwadar has a hot desert environment with little precipitation and a wide range of temperatures between summer and winter. Plant survival has been reduced due to severe soil salinization. “With the local ecological challenges in mind, we will plant tropical economic tree species that can withstand high temperatures, salt and alkali, wind and sand, and draught,” he added.

The NGIA is currently being built at a cost of Rs. 60.208 billion. Its whole scope of work, which included civil, structural, mechanical, and engineering work, has been completed. The NGIA’s centerpiece, a state-of-the-art more than 6-kilometer “Runway,” has already completed all phases that exceed international standards. It is always ready for a test flight.

For internal and international routes, it will be able to accommodate narrow-body aircraft such as the ATR 72 and Boeing B-737, as well as wide-body aircraft such as the Airbus A-380 and Boeing B-747. The airport will be operated under an open-sky policy and developed with the help of the CAA.

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