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Chilas Airfield
View on WikipediaChilas Airfield (IATA: CHB, ICAO: OPCL) is an airfield located at Chilas, a town in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. [3][4][5]
Key Information
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History
[edit]Chilas Airfield was built by the British Raj in 1927 to support movement of troops and government officials. After Pakistan's independence, the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) further developed it to support the construction of the Karakoram Highway; the FWO along with the Pakistan Air Force continued to utilize the airfield till 1970 after which it became disused. [3][4]
Proposals to transform the inactive airfield into an international airport came up during the rule of Pakistan People's Party (2008-2013) though none of them materialized. However, in 2018 the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) constituted a high-level board for reactivating the airfield for both tourism and logistic purposes. The nine-member board, comprising Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, WAPDA and PAF officials carried out on-site visits of Chilas to assess the possibilities of air facilities there supporting construction of the nearby Diamer-Bhasha Dam.[5][4]
According to the committee, Chilas airfield will receive minor upgrades and repair works such that it would enable construction officials from WAPDA and China Power Investment Corporation to reach the dam site via air. The airfield is located in the catchment area of Diamer-Basha Dam and would be submerged when the dam's reservoir is filled.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "CHB - Airport". GC Mapper.
- ^ "Chilas Airport". Skybrary.aero.
- ^ a b Nagri, Jamil (October 3, 2018). "CAA team arrives in Gilgit to start work on Chilas airfield". DAWN.COM.
- ^ a b c d Kamran, Raja (2018-10-10). "CAA to Save Money by Using Old Airstrip for Airport Near Diamer Bhasha Dam". ProPakistani.
- ^ a b Abbas, Ghulam (2018-10-02). "Diamer-Bhasha Dam: WAPDA requests CAA to start air service at Chilas airstrip". Pakistan Today. Archived from the original on 2022-12-02.
