Multan International Airport gets a new terminal and ability to cater cargo flights from UK and worldwide

On the direct orders from former prime minister of Pakistan, Yusuf Raza Gilani, renovation works started at the Multan airport in 2010 and haven’t stopped ever since. His aim was to enable the airport to handle bigger passenger planes like Airbus A380, Boeing 747 and 777, and cargo carriers like the C-130. The airport authorities have recently announced that the airport will soon be opened for international passenger and cargo flights.

New building has a covered area of 30,700m² and most of the structure has been made of steel composite. Government has invested about $2m on the runway, taxiway tracks and apron only while about $7m have been invested on the terminal.

Newly built airport will directly benefit the businesses and people living abroad. They will be able to directly send their cargo to Pakistan from the UK and many other countries in the world. Previously, cargo companies were using the airports like Lahore and Karachi for their air cargo to Pakistan and then the local freight services for further transportation. This process was time-consuming but with the inauguration of Multan International Airport, it will be very convenient for the cargo companies to send their cargo to central Pakistan.

New terminal can facilitate more than 400 vehicles at a time. There are four bridges and flyovers in the master plan, which will be constructed to ease the flow of traffic. Two of them have already been constructed. Being a central most airport in the major agricultural and industrial part of the province of Punjab, it will help the economy of Pakistan by improving the export and import activities in the region.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has inaugurated the new air cargo complex which has a cargo storage capacity of 10,000 tons. A Boeing 747 can handle maximum cargo of 300 tons in its lower dock at a time.

It has developed a new air linkage with the world which will definitely benefit the country. Overall the Multan International Airport now can cater one million passengers annually, however, the provisions for the cargo handling are targeted at 30,000 metric tons every year.