HERAT CITY (SW): The Ministery of Transportation and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) has announced to upgrade the Herat International Airport with Italian aid worth 29 million Euro.
Dr.Mohammad Baktash, the minister told journalists in Herat city on Tuesday that the government has planned to extend the airport and develop its southern part. He said that the MoTCA would make efforts to standardize the airport for international flights.
The minister said a new terminal would be established and the central flight control tower would be improved. The overall security of the airport would be enhanced, he noted.
Herat is one of the major trade centers in Afghanistan but the local business community has long been demanding direct international flights to save costs. Even to regional financial market like Dubai, Karachi and Mumbai, the Herati traders first need to fly to Kabul and then their final destinations.
Sakhi Dad Rasooli, Head of Herat International Airport, told SW that the airport would be extended according to the master plan. “We had flights to Pakistan and India for six months but as there were not many passenger the airlines stopped their flight”, he said.
The airport’s officials said that international flights from Herat to Dubai would soon restart.
Seperately, the Minister hoped digitalization of the customs would increase the revenue by nine times. Batash said on the occasion that this would curb the corruption drastically.
“The Ministry has been intensely perusing to shift the manual collection of funds into a digital one”, he said. He warned that corruption would not be tolerated and anyone found guilty would be dealt with accordingly.
He mentioned that the “Mili Bus” (public transport) would be revamped with new busses coming from India shortly.
ENDS
