The New Islamabad International Airport will be operational from Friday (April 20), as the Aviation Division informed all departments concerned about the landing of the first flight at 9:00am, according to media reports.

The flight PK300 of the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) will land at the new airport on Friday morning despite the fact the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi showed reservations during his recent visit to the airport.

Last week, Adviser on Aviation Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan inaugurated Pakistan's largest and most advanced fuel farm facility, developed jointly by the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and the Attock Petroleum Limited, at the New Islamabad International Airport.

The facility's smooth operation will be ensured by the offloading bays that are equipped with 600 USGPM pumps, a storage capacity of 10,000 tons with three vertical tanks, a 3,600 USGPM product pumping system and highly advanced refueling equipment comprising eight hydrants.

PSO is Pakistan's largest oil marketing company with operations at nine major airports and over 35 years of experience in fuelling the aviation industry. The Attock Petroleum is a progressive oil marketing company and part of Pakistan's only fully vertically integrated oil group -- Attock Oil Group of Companies -- with a collective experience of over 100 years and expertise in developing state-of-the-art infrastructure for storage, handling and delivery of quality petroleum products.

Winding up discussion on an adjournment motion regarding the decision of the Civil Aviation Authority to operationalise new airport, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed informed the Senate recently that the matter of corruption in the new airport was under investigation and everything would be cleared once it completed. He said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation would help unearth 'corruption' and exposed corrupt people in the construction of the airport.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that members of the Public Accounts Committee had visited the new airport and appreciated the authorities concerned for high-quality work. He said that the project was completed with a total outlay of Rs 105 billion.