SIALKOT, Oct 17: The ground-breaking ceremony of the Sialkot international airport will be held near Sambrial, Daska tehsil, on Oct 23.

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will lead off the ceremony, according to Sialkot International Airport Limited chairman Mian Muhammad Riaz and chief executive Khawar Anwar Khwaja.

They told newsmen on Friday that the airport was being built in an investment friendly atmosphere, and it promised to provide the facilities in keeping with the international standards.

“Sufficient space has been allocated and reserved at the new airport to establish airline offices, aircraft catering units, ground handling services, cargo warehouses, restaurants and car parking facility,” they added.

They said the first-ever country’s export triangle — Sialkot, Gujrat and Gujranwala — had won renown in producing quality products, including sports goods, gloves, surgical instruments, cutlery, ceramics, leather and garments.

The air cargo of this area had currently been sent to the Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi airports through the Sialkot dry port. “It is a laborious exercise requiring extra expenses and time,” they said.

Owing to these logistical problems, they said, the export potential of these districts could not be realised. The new airport, they hoped, would meet the demand of businessmen, traders and the public at large in the Gujranwala division.

The project was being completed under the supervision of the local chamber of commerce and industry. They said nearly 1,004 acres near Sambrial, about 14 kilometres west of the district, had been selected for this purpose.

Touching upon the advantages of the airport, the SIAL heads said transportation of export cargo would be expedited. “It will also attract clients from across the world and bring about significant strategic changes in the region. Besides, the opportunities of employment will also grow.”

The cargo flights would be started in the middle of 2004 while the regular passenger flights (domestic and international) would start taking off in the middle of 2005, they said.

RURAL ECONOMY: The Punjab industries minister, Muhammad Ajmal Cheema, has emphasised the need to boost rural economy through proper planning and organized utilization of manpower.

A majority of the country’s population lived in the rural areas for which the government was making efforts to improve socio-economic conditions, the minister said at a seminar on rural development, here on Friday.

The government, he said, was also giving priority to the industries to boost the rural economy. He urged the social welfare agencies to educate the masses on the importance of self-reliance, and motivate them to undertake development projects on a self-help basis to achieve goal.

The minister said the new industrial policy would bring in an era of development, and remove hurdles being faced by the businessmen in the province. He said an ultramodern expo centre would be set up in Lahore on a 400-kanal tract.