DG Khan airport to take international flights by January 2028 after Rs 5.5 billion upgrade

Dera Ghazi Khan airport is being upgraded for international flights at a cost of Rs 5.5 billion, with completion due by January 2028, Federal Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari said after visiting the airport on Monday 19 October, according to a Power Division statement reported by Business Recorder and ARY News.

The upgrade in brief

Leghari, who is from the district, inspected the runway extension and said the airport would give people in south Punjab easier travel and bring new business to the region. The statement did not name airlines or routes, give the new runway length or break down the Rs 5.5 billion.

What it could mean for travellers

Families in DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Taunsa, many with relatives working in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman, now travel to Multan for international flights, a road trip of roughly two hours each way before check-in. A runway able to take larger jets is the first condition for direct Gulf flights. Airlines decide routes only once the runway, terminal, customs and immigration counters are ready, so nothing changes for this winter's travel.

If you are budgeting a car trip to Multan airport in the meantime, our fuel cost calculator works out the petrol bill at today's petrol price.

Other projects for DG Khan

Leghari listed other projects the prime minister has announced for the city:

• A cancer hospital: the Kulsoom Nawaz Cancer Hospital was approved this month at Rs 8.7 billion, due by June 2029 (our report).
• A sewerage scheme designed for the next 50 years.
• Widening and repair of the city's roads.

Loadshedding stays on high-loss feeders

As power minister, Leghari also said scheduled loadshedding continues on feeders where losses are 30% or more, and that gas shortages linked to the Iran-US war are pushing up generation costs. The government is fitting an Anti-Power Theft Management System on transformers so that only high-theft transformers are switched off instead of whole feeders, sparing paying customers. Check what your own bill should be with our electricity bill calculator.