Pakistan delays China-funded airport opening over security fears

Pakistan has postponed the opening of a nearly $250m airport over security fears, dealing another blow to efforts to boost Chinese investment in its crisis-hit economy. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was due to attend the inauguration of New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA), close to a port at the center of the $50b China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). But the planned opening on Aug. 14 -- Pakistan's Independence Day -- was suddenly halted over what local officials said were security concerns after mass protests brought southwestern Gwadar to a near standstill this month. No new opening date has been announced for the $246m China-funded project, which got off the ground following a grant deal with Beijing in 2015. "All the required work and prerequisite arrangements on [the New Gwadar] airport have been completed and it's ready for flight operations," a government official familiar with the situation told Nikkei on condition of anonymity. The delayed opening -- after an initial postponement last year -- comes amid concerns that lower-than-expected demand for flights into the region, beset by deadly militant attacks and a separatist insurgency, would quickly turn it into a white elephant. The single-runway airport, about 45 kilometers from Chinese-controlled Gwadar port, is spread over 4,300 acres (1,740 hectares) and can handle large-body planes like the Airbus A380. That will make it the country's largest airport by size, ahead of Islamabad's gateway.<br/>