Pakistan has begun a Rs.5.5 billion expansion of Dera Ghazi Khan (DG Khan) airport, with completion expected by January 2028, Federal Energy Minister Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari has said.
Speaking during a visit to inspect the project, Leghari said Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) teams were working on site, including on plans to extend the runway.
The upgrade follows an announcement by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to develop the airport for international flights.
Awais Leghari said the project would improve travel facilities for residents of Dera Ghazi Khan and create new opportunities for economic development in South Punjab.
The airport expansion is one of four major development projects announced for the city by the prime minister.
The other initiatives include a cancer hospital, a long-term sewerage scheme and the widening and rehabilitation of roads.
According to Leghari, the sewerage project is being designed to meet the region’s needs for the next 50 years. Wider and rehabilitated roads are also expected to improve transport and commuting.
The government says the projects will strengthen public services and support regional development.
During the visit, Leghari also addressed electricity load shedding and efforts to reduce losses across Pakistan’s power distribution network.
He said power cuts were being carried out according to an established schedule, while constraints on gas supplies linked to wider geopolitical tensions had increased the cost of electricity generation.
The government was introducing modern technology to tackle electricity theft and reduce transmission and distribution losses, he said.
The Advanced Power Management System (APMS) is being installed on transformers across the country to identify areas with high levels of electricity theft.
He said the system would allow authorities to disconnect targeted transformers rather than penalize thousands of paying consumers connected to an entire feeder.
He added that load shedding would continue on feeders where AT&C losses reached 30 percent or more.
The minister said the government would take action against electricity theft and persistent non-payment as part of wider efforts to improve the performance of the power distribution system.
Earlier, the Project Director of the Civil Aviation Authority briefed the Federal Minister on the airport expansion project and presented him with a commemorative shield.