New Gwadar International Airport should not be confused with Gwadar International Airport.
| New Gwadar Airport | |
| Iata: | GWD |
| Icao: | OPGD |
| Type: | Public |
| Owner: | Joint venture between Pakistan, Oman, and China |
| Operator: | Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) |
| City-Served: | Gwadar, Pakistan |
| Location: | Gwadar-91200, Pakistan |
| Coordinates: | 25.2975°N 62.5008°W |
The New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) is an airport in Gwadar, Pakistan.[1] Occupying 4,300 acres (17 km2) of land, it is located in Gurandani, 26 km north-east of the existing airport in Gwadar on the south-western Arabian Sea coast of Balochistan Province. NGIA is expected to cost $246 million. It is mainly funded by China as a grant and was formally inaugurated on 14 October 2024 by Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Premier of China Li Qiang.
After New Islamabad International Airport, NGIA will be the second greenfield airport of Pakistan that will be capable of providing landing facility for Airbus A380.
The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) is responsible for overseeing its management and operation, and its ownership will be shared among a collaborative effort involving Pakistan, Oman, and China. This airport is designed to facilitate both domestic and international flights.[2]
The airport project was launched as a swiftly achievable, high-priority initiative within the CPEC programme in 2014.[3] Former PM Imran Khan had laid the foundation of NGIA on 29 March 2019.[4] [5] This greenfield airport will include a modern terminal building alongside a cargo terminal, with refrigeration facilities for perishable items, with an initial handling capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year. NGIA will have the capacity to accommodate wide-body aircraft including Airbus A380 & Boeing 747-8 and narrow-body aircraft such as ATR-72 & Boeing 737-900ER.[6] [7] [8]
On 1 August 2023, the National Assembly of Pakistan adopted a resolution to change the name of the New Gwadar International Airport to honor Feroz Khan Noon. The initiative was put forth by Aliya Kamran, Rana Qasim Noon, and Sabir Hussain Qaimkhani during the assembly session. Additionally, the assembly approved another resolution urging the government to rename the Gwadar International Airport in tribute to Feroz Khan Noon. This decision was rooted in recognising his instrumental role in securing Gwadar for Pakistan through an agreement with the Sultanate of Oman during his tenure as Prime Minister.[9]
The Civil Aviation Authority awarded the design to build contract of the new airport to the China Communications Construction Company (CCC).[10] The airport was opened on 14 October 2024 in a ceremony led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.[11]
The airport has a single runway with 3,658 metres of length and a width of 75 metres that will have the capacity to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft. There will be a taxiway of 23 metres length alongside a 10.5 metre paved shoulders for both sides.[12] The airport has the capacity to build a second runway to the north of the first runway. An Air Traffic Control (ATC) Tower, crash, fire and rescue facilities will be built as well as a fuel farm.
The New Gwadar International Airport will be constructed at a cost of Rs55.4 billion, funded mainly (67%) as a grant by China with also participation from Pakistan and Oman.[13]
No airlines currently serve NGIA. However, when it is ready for flights, then it will have airlines flying to it.