Infrastructure and Transport News

[Contrarian]

You know Neo, when i mentioned this news to people in PDF, i got insulted saying stuff like 'wev seen the $hit mass transit system u got' and '********* cannot show anything', 'only thing ********* can do is this and that'.

I mentioned that Pakistan had seeked a feasibility report from Delhi Metro Rail Corp on the viability of it in Pakistan, as Delhi is the closest model that would have to be replicated, bcause of congestion, population and other things that are common in India and Pakistan.Sreedharan had gone to Pakistan for it, among other things.
I wish i could show this report to them now, fortuntely i was banned.

 

[Neo]

Traders demand express train for Multan ​

MULTAN (July 18 2007): Traders, industrialists and common people have demanded of Railway authorities to divert the route of Rohi-Express and Hazara express via Multan to facilitate thousands of people, who want to travel by train between Multan-Jhang, Shah Jewna, Sillanwali, Shaheenabad and Sargodha.

They also demanded to introduce a new fast train on this route to facilitate the people of southern Punjab. Khawaja Muhammad Shafiq, Chairman, Traders Alliance, Niaz Muhammad Shaikh, Tariq Raza Khan and others said that Multan-Sargodha section via Jhang had totally been neglected for the last sixty years.

There was no telecommunication system between Shorkot and Shaheenabad area. All stations are without water and light. The platforms are broken and dilapidated, they added. They said that Sandal Express was the only train for people of Multan to travel to Jhang and adjacent areas, which completes its journey of (170 miles-272 km) in ten to 12 hours.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=594049&currPageNo=2&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[solid snake]

I didn't know Lahore was planning a mass transit train system. That is great news! I hope we get some help from Delhi, and that construction goes off without a hitch.

What I'm wondering is whether there will be any segregation on the trains. In Pakistan, buses have separate sections for men and women. Will this train system have this? I hope not, because it creates unnecessary inconvenience for everyone. There should be security on board the train so if anyone acts like a dumbass towards a lady, he gets arrested.

You know Neo, when i mentioned this news to people in PDF, i got insulted saying stuff like 'wev seen the $hit mass transit system u got' and '********* cannot show anything', 'only thing ********* can do is this and that'.

I mentioned that Pakistan had seeked a feasibility report from Delhi Metro Rail Corp on the viability of it in Pakistan, as Delhi is the closest model that would have to be replicated, bcause of congestion, population and other things that are common in India and Pakistan.Sreedharan had gone to Pakistan for it, among other things.
I wish i could show this report to them now, fortuntely i was banned.

I got banned from PDF because I defended Miss Pakistan against the attacks users of that site were making against her. They were insinuating that she was a whore, and other things you can well imagine. They accussed me of being an Indian, and promptly banned me.

They are a bunch of juvenile losers.

Now this forum is a real defense forum

 

[Neo]

Air passenger traffic to rise 94pc in five years ​

KARACHI: Pakistan is expecting a jump of 94 per cent in the number of passengers using its airports from current 17 million to 33 million in next five years, The News has learnt.

It also intends to increase the number of international airlines operating in the country to 40 from 24 between 2008 and 2012, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s five-year business plan.

The CAA has also planned to make Karachi and Lahore regional hubs for West-bound air traffic, generating from the Asia-Pacific region, by seeking investments in airport-related infrastructure of the two cities.

“Asia-Pacific countries will contribute the highest number of air passengers in the targeted period,” said a senior CAA official, who was involved in the formulation of the medium-term strategy, but requested not to be named.

“We need to convince these Asian airlines to drop their passengers here from where the western carriers could take the traffic to Europe and beyond.”

According to Boeing, the American aircraft manufacturer, airlines in the Asia-Pacific region including China, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia had altogether ordered some 8,000 aircraft, he said.

Just past week, global airports’ organisation Airports Council International announced that a record number of passengers totaling 4.4 billion traveled in 2006 with Beijing seeing the biggest rise in passenger traffic.

The CAA believes that its airports are ideally placed in South Asia having close proximity to South East Asia, Middle East and Central Asia.

The point is substantiated by one of its comparative studies, which shows a saving of 47 minutes on Hong Kong-Karachi-Brussels route for a flight going from Hong Kong to Brussels via Dubai.

However, an even greater emphasis is on making international hubs by providing a diverse range of facilities including world-class hotels, shopping plazas and other allied infrastructure for transit passengers.

“Land is cheaper here and international airlines could use this to their advantage,” the CAA official said, explaining that setting up aviation schools and training centres in Pakistan was much more cost-effective.

He also referred to an idea of building an aviation tower in Karachi or Lahore where foreign carriers could relocate their satellite offices.

The worth of land space in and around the airports runs into billions of rupees and it was only after Farooq Rehmatullah took over as Director General CAA a serious thought was given to utilisation of dormant non-aeronautical assets of the aviation regulator.

According to a new assessment, the CAA’s non-aeronautical assets are valued at Rs177 billion against a book value of Rs17 billion.

Moreover, the CAA is eyeing increase in its revenues from current level of around Rs12 billion to Rs31 billion by 2012, a rise of 158 per cent.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=65274

 

[Neo]

Lufthansa announces flights from Pakistan​

LAHORE: Lufthansa, a German Airline, has announced to start its flights towards Karachi and Lahore from October 2007.

An official press release by the company on Saturday announced that the company would start its service from October 28, 2007 thrice a week flights from Karachi to Lahore and Frankfurt.

Vice President sales and services Southeast Europe, Africa and Middle East, Joachim Steinback has stated Lufthansa Network would strengthen the bilateral economic relation by connecting the commercial and industrial cities of Pakistan, Middle East and Germany.

Joachim Steinback, who is also heading the strategically most important regions of Lufthansa Network, said that passengers of Pakistan and Germany would have access to the extensive route network of Lufthansa connecting through the Lufthansa hub Frankfurt to other European countries as well as to the United States.

Mr Steinbach further said, passengers would benefit from the new Lufthansa flights since the non stop connection from Pakistan to Germany would reduce travel time by up to three hours as compared to current connecting flights from gulf to Europe. He said this step of Lufthansa airline would be a great advantage for the business travellers.

Lufthansa also announced appointments for Pakistan and Mr Ian Patrick would be Lufthansa Country manger for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mr Patrick has a long and varied airlines experience as he has experience of consulting for numerous fields of marketing, revenue enhancement and route feasibility.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...2-7-2007_pg5_7

 

[Neo]

Replacing B-747s bad idea for PIA: experts ​

KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is incurring huge financial losses on account of Boeing-777 being flown from Karachi with less than 16 per cent seat occupancy to the northern hubs of the country for onward dispatch to Europe and the United States. Also, the move to replace the tried and trusted B-747 aircraft with newer and more expensive aircraft is adding to the airline’s financial burden.

For every positioning flight from Karachi to Lahore and Islamabad, the airline suffers an operating cost burden of Rs1.2 million, excluding the revenue that could have been generated, people close to the PIA affairs told The News.

However, according to a PIA spokesman, the aircraft are rotated with a scheduled flight to and from the northern hubs, except where it is mandatory to bring it to Karachi where the airline’s engineering base is headquartered for maintenance work.

“All positioning flights are operated as per printed regular scheduled flights where booking is done and passengers as per capacity of aircraft and availability are accepted,” the spokesman told The News.

The PIA official said the operating cost of B-777 aircraft was being met in terms of recovery. He did not elaborate, however.

Well-placed sources said PIA had failed to meet its repayment schedule on installments of loans taken against the eight B-777 aircraft and had resorted to additional loans since the targeted revenues were never achieved. One of the factors that led to astronomical rise in total operating cost was the rise in maintenance expenses and the cost of serving on “dead” sectors which involved positioning flights to the northern hubs, they added.

Aviation experts say B-777 is a fuel-efficient aircraft, which if operated on dense capacity sectors and direct economical routes “is bound to yield revenues and make operations profitable.” They told The News “It is an ideal long-range aircraft, but it is totally unsuitable for medium-range flights of less than 6- 7 hours.”

The problems in strategy are causing heartburn within the airline. The trusted B-747 aircraft, which have been the mainstay of PIA’s business, are being phased out despite the fact that they still have the capacity to earn for the corporation.

PIA also has 12 A310s which are short to medium range aircraft with a capacity for 182 passengers and an underbelly cargo capacity of 8-9 tonnes.

The airline has six Boeing 747-300 and two Boeing 747-240 Combi aircraft. The 747-300 has a passenger capacity of 429 seats and underbelly cargo capacity of 16 tonnes, as compared with Boeing 747-240 Combi having a passenger capacity of 260 seats and main deck plus underbelly cargo capacity of 48 tonnes. The total operating cost of Boeing 777ER is Rs589, 513/hour while that of 777LR is Rs608, 384/hour. This in terms of total operating cost for Boeing 777 per hour per passenger seat comes to Rs1, 950/hour and Rs1, 791/hour, respectively.

Compared with this, the PIA fleet of 12 includes six owned by PIA and the other half leased through third parties. The total operating cost of the A310 is Rs414, 625/hour, which comes to a total operating cost per hour per passenger seat of Rs2, 253/hour.

PIA has two Boeing 747 Combi aircraft. It has a capacity to carry 260 passengers and main deck cargo carrying capacity of 32 tonnes together with an underbelly extra cargo capacity of 16 tonnes apart from passenger baggage.

The cost that works out for the Boeing 747-300 owned by PIA is Rs1, 923/hour†per passenger seat. The total operating cost per hour of Boeing 747-300 is Rs833, 066/hour, while that of Boeing 747 Combi is Rs849, 711/hour.

In spite of much higher fuel burn-off of B 747, the operating cost is comparable to more fuel efficient B-777 and A310s because the 747 is all paid for and the cost of servicing loans does not figure into it. Aviation experts say if an airline can manage it in terms of distance and financing, then B777 is the aircraft of choice.

However, given PIA’s financial predicament, it does not make sense to phase out its trusted B-747s with more expensive aircraft on loans. In addition, in Haj and heavy traffic seasons, PIA still needs B747s which are then leased at high costs.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=65613

 

[Neo]

International airlines coming to Pakistan ​

KARACHI: German carrier Lufthansa is resuming direct flights between Karachi and Frankfurt from October 28, 2007, citing firm growth in number of passengers traveling from Pakistan.

According to a communique, the airline will operate three weekly flights from Frankfurt to Karachi and for the first time to Lahore as well.

“Lufthansa will connect Pakistan directly with Germany and with our global route network,” said Lufthansa’s Dr Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht, Head of Hub Management Frankfurt. “We expect a solid market growth in Pakistan and by that a further demand on this connection.”

These non-stop flights will shorten the air journey between the two countries by up to four hours compared with present stopovers in the Gulf region.

The announcement comes at a time when Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is trying to turn the two largest cities of the country into transit hubs for Asia-Pacific passengers going to Europe and beyond.

According to a senior CAA official, while Pakistan is witnessing a good growth in air traveling, the Asia-Pacific region will contribute the highest number of passengers to global traffic in the next five years.

He said the authorities want to give incentives for stopovers here by seeking investment in diverse range of facilities including world-class hotels, shopping malls and other airport allied infrastructure.

This will require giving point-to-point excess to airlines based in Western and Eastern hemispheres and CAA is in contact with a number of carriers in this regard, The News has learnt.

England’s British Airways will operate six flights to Pakistan from current three in its winter schedule and Singapore Airlines has also sought to double its three frequencies to Islamabad.

CAA is also in talks with Virgin Atlantic, China International and Midland Airways.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=65706

 

[Neo]

Three infrastructure projects worth Rs 126.95bn approved​

* Establishment of 22 warehouses and 5,000 utility stores accorded approval

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday accorded concept clearance for three mega infrastructure projects worth Rs 126.955 billion including National Trade Corridor Improvement Project, New Balakot City Development Project and Muzaffarabad City Development Project. The concept clearance of these projects would help the government to raise funds from donor community.

Dr Asad Ali Shah, Member Infrastructure Planning and Development Division briefed the media on decisions taken in the meeting upon conclusion of the CDWP meeting.

He said that concept clearance for National Trade Corridor Improvement Project has been accorded with a total outlay of Rs 94.134 billion and a foreign exchange component (FEC) of Rs 66.814 billion. Concept clearance for two other important projects have been accorded by the CDWP which include Muzaffarabad City Development Project worth Rs 20.820 billion with FEC of Rs 18 billion and New Balakot City Development Project worth 12 billion having a FEC of Rs 7.8 billion.

He informed the media that the CDWP approved 11 projects worth Rs 2.69 billion and after initial approval recommended for approval 9 projects worth Rs 30.9 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) headed by Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The CDWP also accorded approval to establishment of 22 new warehouses or distribution centers and 5000 new Utility Stores in throughout the country at Union Council level by December 31, 2007.

In this regard an amount of Rs 1.778 billion has been approved for this project.

Dr Shah said that Rs 1.23 billion has been approved for the Earthquake Reconstruction Programme in District Swat, which was not included in the reconstruction plan and would help develop damaged infrastructure in Swat. CDWP also approved Rs 1.54 billion for the procurement of heavy machinery and equipment for the earthquake-affected areas of NWFP and AJ&K.

He said that the CDWP approved procurement of 300 new design high speed bogie wagons for Pakistan Railways with an allocation of Rs 16 billion, and an allocation of Rs 955 million has been approved for pilot project for manufacturing of five 3000 HP diesel electric locomotives in the country.

The CDWP accorded approval to PC-II worth Rs 59.535 million for technical assistance for Renewable Energy Policy Formulation and Capacity Development of Alternative Energy Development Board.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...7-7-2007_pg5_2

 

[Neo]

Etihad Airways to fly 11 times from Karachi​

KARACHI: Etihad Airways’ has increased their Karachi to Abu Dhabi service to11 weekly flights and the airline now offers daily flights with effect from August 1.

With this increase, flight EY 222 will operate four times a week- Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday- while flight EY 228 will operate daily.

Joost den Hartog, Etihad Airways’ Area Manager in Pakistan, said: “The additional flight from Karachi is an indication of how important the Pakistan market has become for the Etihad network in the past three years.

Etihad Airways now flies 11 times per week from Karachi, daily from Lahore, seven times a week from Islamabad, and two times per week from Peshawar to Abu Dhabi.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\08\03\story_3-8-2007_pg5_13

 

[Neo]

CAA to spend Rs455m to update radars ​

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has embarked upon a Rs455 million plan to upgrade the aging aircraft-navigational aid systems at its airports, The News learnt on Tuesday.

The investment will make the aircraft guiding equipment fully compatible with international standards and enhance the ability of airport managements to deal with higher traffic, according to a CAA official involved in preparation of the plan.

“Radar systems were last updated in 1986 with the installation of French equipment. Now that company, Thales, no longer supplies the spare parts,” he said, adding the system was for monitoring air traffic and communication with an aircraft pilot.

Air Traffic Management System and Voice Communication and Control System are part of the radar processes and would be upgraded in the first phase of the plan entitled Refurbishment of Radars and its Allied Equipment and Replacement of Air Traffic Control centres.

The radars for the nine cities, including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, would be upgraded later, the CAA official said. However, he deplored that certain vested interests were putting hurdles in the way of a CAA delegation of experts who wanted to travel to China and evaluate a more economical version of the same equipment.

“It is always better to cut cost. China is supplying parts to leading technology firms, for aircraft and what not,” he insisted. The refurbishment of radars will enhance safety and allow Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum that increases the number of aircraft to safely fly in a particular volume of space.

CAA is awaiting the Central Development Working Partyís approval for this capital expenditure plan after which it will invite applications from international firms supplying the radar equipment.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=67370

 

[Neo]

PIA to get 7 new Airbus A320-200​

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has signed a Letter of Intent for the lease of seven new Airbus A320-200 aircraft from Aviation Lease and Finance Company (ALAFCO), Kuwait. Induction of these aircraft is part of PIA’s drive to modernise its fleet with newer and more fuel-efficient airliners to provide its customers with state-of-the-art technology airplanes with in-flight comfort. The A320’s will replace PIA’s Boeing 737-300 f1eet, which has served the airline for more than 20 years.

The deliveries of A320 are expected to commence in 2009 and completed in the same year. Chairman PIA said Friday that a comprehensive study was carried out, and based on technical and operational evaluation of the available options, Airbus A320-200 was selected as the most suitable choice for PIA. The new A320 aircraft will provide maximum operational flexibility on short and medium haul routes with lower operating costs, optimised cabin layouts and better baggage or cargo handling, he added. These aircraft with a seating capacity of 146 will operate mainly on domestic routes with limited operation on regional routes.

With the induction of these seven new aircraft, the average age of PIA fleet will be reduced from current 13 years to around 10 years. PIA has recently acquired seven new ATR42-500 aircraft as replacement of its Fokker F-27 fleet. PIA’s fleet also includes eight state of the art Boeing 777 aircraft which are being utilised on long haul routes. ALAFCO is a Kuwaiti company and provides Shariah-based aircraft leasing products with a portfolio of 33 owned and managed aircraft on lease to 16 airlines in 11 countries. They have recently placed orders for 59 new aircraft with Airbus and Boeing.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\08\11\story_11-8-2007_pg5_10

 

[Neo]

Airblue to buy Airbus, Boeings ​

KARACHI (August 16 2007): Airblue will be purchasing Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and a deal in this regard would be finalised during the upcoming Dubai Air Show, scheduled to be held in October.

This was stated by Airblue Chief Operating Officer (COO) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at the launching of co-branded credit card with ABN Amro at a local hotel Airblue on Wednesday. He said the banks would be contacted for the lease of aircraft once the negotiations now under way reached any conclusion.

About credit card, he said this new product would facilitate the travellers. "Airblue is proud to be associated with ABN Amro in this co-brand strategic alliance and look forward to working together to give our customers unique financial and travelling solutions," he added.

He hoped that Airblue would continue to thrive through providing better services to its travellers in future. Earlier, Country Executive of ABN Amro in Pakistan Naveed Khanin said:

"We intend to continue this commitment with the support of Airblue and further strengthen our relationship by providing the best services to our customers in the shape of an extraordinary credit card." The master card circulation would further go up, he said, and added that this card was launched after hard work and deliberation with Airblue.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=606044&currPageNo=3&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Hyderabad airport soon to be operational ​

HYDERABAD (August 15 2007): Hyderabad Zila Nazim Naveed Jamil said on Tuesday that the Hyderabad airport would soon become an operational airport of the country. He said that struggle continues for making Hyderabad airport operational. He stated this at a gathering of people organised by Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said that the industrial development is the need of the time.

The Nazim said that the enthusiasm of industrialisation would control the unemployment. He said that there are three big barriers in the development of industry and trade--lack of airport, lack of large industrial area and lack of good infrastructure.

He said that as some members of the Chamber had pointed out in seminars, the district government has kept this as first priority. He said: "We are trying to solve the problems of the people according to our resources. When I met the Prime Minister and President I asked them to make Hyderabad airport operational."

He said that 300 acres land would be handed over to Sindh Industrial Trading Estate for widening the area of industrial zone. He added the plots would be allotted to genuine industrialists.

On this occasion, the President of Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yousuf Sulaiman, said that air flights was the main demand of industrialists, businessmen, and other people. PIA will start service by flight ART-40 from Hyderabad. He said that it is believed that PIA would start both passengers and cargo services.

A former president of HCCI, Muhammad Yaqoob, said that the Smeda had announced to allot land for establishing Hyderabad Chamber of business development centre. He said one draft agreement has been prepared between Smeda and Taluka municipal administration of Latifabad that the project work would be started in near future. Vice President Muhammad Ammin said that PIA would no loss from the air service to Hyderabad.

On the occasion, DCO Hyderabad Afitab Ahmed Khateri, DIG Police Shouket Shah, DPO Investigation Khalid Mustafa Korai, SP Headquarters Zulifqar Ali and other officials, members of HCCI and people from other walk of life were also present.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=605776&currPageNo=3&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Turkish Airlines planning daily flights to Pakistani cities ​

KARACHI (October 11 2007): Turkish Airlines is planning to start daily flights to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, said Country Manager of Turkish Airlines, Levend Arisoy in an interview here on Wednesday. These will be separate as well as non-stop on the Pakistan-Turkey route, he said adding that currently there were four flights a week between Istanbul and Karachi.

Arisoy said that the concerned officials of Turkey and Pakistan would meet later this year to renew the bilateral aviation agreement to increase the flight frequency between the two nations.

He maintained that the Turkish Airlines' offer was to have open sky policy for each country's national flag carrier- Turkish Airlines and the PIA. 2008, according to him, looks bright for the two airlines on the Pakistan-Turkey route.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[Neo]

Work in progress on design of Sialkot-Lahore Motorway ​

LAHORE (October 11 2007): Work is in progress on the detailed design of the 99km long Sialkot-Lahore Motorway, a mega project by the Punjab government, which will cost Rs 23 billion. NESPAK is providing engineering services for this motorway which will introduce a new era of development in the region and considerably increase trade activities in areas along the highway.

According to NESPAK sources, the project design will be completed early next year. After the design's approval, tenders will be invited for the construction of this Motorway. The motorway has been designed for a speed of 120 km per hour and involves the construction of 7 interchanges, 40 bridges, 70 underpasses and 8 flyovers.

The government will establish three Industrial Zones, each spread over an area of 3000 acres, along the motorway to boost industrialisation. A German and a Swedish university will also inaugurate their campuses in this area.

The residential sector will benefit from the development of housing colonies near the interchanges. The multidimensional benefits of the project ought to bring healthy social, economic, geographical and cultural changes according to the sources.

The Punjab government has undertaken this project due to the importance of Sialkot as an industrial city. It produces sports goods, surgical instruments, leather products, etc and therefore tremendous cargo traffic plies from Sialkot to Lahore for the marketing of the finished products in the country and their exports to world markets.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]