ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat in its meeting on Thursday was annoyed by the irregularities in construction of new Islamabad Airport but wants the project completed as early as possible.

The committee instructed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to expedite the development work and discourage mushroom growth of residential areas around the airport.

Director General CAA Air Marshal Khalid Choudhry informed the committee that land for new Islamabad Airport was purchased in 1984 near Fatehjang.

Land was purchased with rates ranging between Rs30,000 per Kanal and Rs500,000 per Kanal but average rate of the land is Rs70,000 per Kanal.

The project was inaugurated by then prime minister Shaukat Aziz and construction was awarded to 17 different contractors though the design of the airport was yet to be approved.

However, M/s Louis Berger Group was the Project Management Group, he said.

Initial PC-I was of Rs37 billion but fuel system, radar and radio control building, aprons for planes, sewerage treatment plant, electricity and availability of water were missing in PC-I approved by a number of government institutions,` he said.

`Omissions of Rs29 billion, escalation of Rs4.11 billion and other charges have pushed the project cost up by Rs37 billion to Rs83 billion. It might further increase because of devaluation of rupee,` he said.

Mr Choudhry also told the committee that according to PC-I, airport should have been gradually expanded and it would havebeen completed by 2035 but during former government`s tenure project was handed over to China Estate Construction Company and at the moment 82 per cent air and land infrastructure and 42 per cent building has been completed, he added.

He said the airport near Rawalpindi provided service to 3 million people per year and it has 20 check-in counters and parking places for 400 vehicles.

New airport with 90 check-in counters and parking facility for 2,000 vehicles, will provide service to 9 million people every year, he said.

Mr Choudhry informed the meeting that Rs37 billion had been spent on the airport but still it was incomplete due to which inquiries have been marked to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Member of the committee Sughra Imam, showed annoyance regarding irregularities and said that government was in severe financial crunch but bureaucracy was looking the other way.

Chairperson standing committee Kalsoom Perveen said the government departments had failed to ensure transparency in projects due to which government has been considering to privatise different departments.

`Project should have been completed by 2011 but even in 2013 we are not sure that when new airport will be completed. Now we have been hearing that third airport will be constructed in Islamabad, which is nothing but waste of money,` she said.

She also instructed to stop mushroom growth of residential areas in the radius of 3.5 kilometers of new airport.