Federal Minister for Energy Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said on Monday that the Rs5.5 billion expansion of Dera Ghazi Khan Airport will be completed by January 2028. The project is meant to allow international flights, and the minister said work to upgrade the airport has already begun. He made the remarks during an inspection visit, where he reviewed progress and the runway extension.
The minister said teams of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the federal regulator for civil aviation, are working on the project. He said this followed the prime minister's announcement that the airport would be upgraded for international operations. A ministry statement issued on Monday gave the same account of the visit.
Runway work and wider projects
Leghari said upgrading the airport would give local travellers better facilities and open new opportunities for development across south Punjab. He noted that the prime minister had announced four major projects for Dera Ghazi Khan: the airport expansion, a cancer hospital, a long-term sewerage project and the widening and rehabilitation of road networks. The sewerage system is being designed to meet the region's needs for the next 50 years, he said, while wider roads would make daily commuting smoother.
Loadshedding and power theft
In the same remarks, the minister addressed electricity supply. He said loadshedding, the scheduled power cuts used when demand outstrips supply, is being carried out according to a set timetable. He linked gas supply shortages and wider geopolitical tensions to higher power generation costs, which has forced greater reliance on more expensive fuel. Another account of the same remarks cited the Iran-US war as the source of the gas problems.
To tackle power theft and line losses, the government is introducing modern technology, including an Anti-Power Theft Management System (APMS) installed on transformers across the country. Through it, transformers in specific theft-affected areas can be identified and disconnected when needed, so consumers sharing the same feeder, meaning the local power line, are not cut off because of action against theft elsewhere. The minister said loadshedding will continue on feeders with 30% or higher losses, and that there will be no leniency for power thieves and defaulters.
What happens next
The January 2028 date is the completion target the minister gave on Monday. No interim milestones were announced in the same remarks, so progress on the runway extension and the CAA's work will be the main signals of whether that target holds.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Dera Ghazi Khan airport ko international flights ke liye upgrade kiya ja raha hai, aur yeh kaam January 2028 tak mukammal hone ka hadaf hai. Federal Minister Awais Leghari ne Rs5.5 billion ke is project ka muaina kiya aur kaha ke CAA ki teams runway par kaam kar rahi hain. Is ka matlab hai ke south Punjab ke logon ko future mein behtar safar ki sahulat mil sakti hai. Doosri taraf loadshedding scheduled tareeqe se ho rahi hai aur gas ki kami se bijli mehngi parh rahi hai, is liye bijli chori par sakhti ki baat ki gayi hai.
