Re: Design of New Islamabad Airport...
The New Islamabad International Airport is going to be totally different than what the NESPAK image is showing, which is almost 20 years old. I think originally Bechtel was the main contractor who did the initial planning assessment and the image is based on that assessment. Since 1986 the passenger volume at Islamabad has grown threefold and now its handles around 2.2 million passengers annually (2003).
Based on the new plans the airport would be designed to handle 6 - 6.5 million passengers per year and would have at least 8-10 gates. The airport would only have one runway (13,000x150) initially and a plan to include another one in the next 10 years. I am in the process of getting some new images and layouts for the new airport and Inshallah I will post them as soon as they are available.
As per my understanding the new Islamabad Airport is not expecting any A380's in the next ten years or so, but in case of charter or emergency the 13,000'x150' runway can easily handle an A380.