Japan donates equipment for Pakistan airports

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An equipment handover ceremony was held at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Tuesday. PHOTO: EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: The Government of Japan has provided airport security equipment worth ¥1.94 (Rs1.96 billion) for the airports in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

An equipment handover ceremony was held at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad on Tuesday, where Japanese Ambassador Takashi Kurai handed over equipment including explosive detection systems and vehicle scanners to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority Director-General Air Marshal (retd) Asim Suleiman and Aviation Secretary Muhammad Irfan Elahi.

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Yasuhiro Tojo, the chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), in a statement at the handover ceremony said, “balanced and stable regional development by supporting security enhancement is one of the priority areas of JICA’s rolling plan and country assistance policy for Pakistan.”

Kurai said, “security enhancement is indispensable for successful socioeconomic development of Pakistan, and the Government of Japan remains committed to supporting Pakistan in this field.”

The new equipment meets the latest international security standards set by the United States, the European Union, and International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Of the equipment, Kurai said, “It is a great pleasure for me to mention that with the help of Japan, international flights departing from Pakistan will gain more credibility and passengers would also feel more comfortable and safe, while traveling to different destinations via these airports.”

In addition to this project, Japan has been assisting Pakistan by implementing various other security projects.

On July 4, Japan provided grant aid worth ¥200 million (Rs205 million) under which a face recognition system will be installed at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.

A project to improve security equipment such as container scanners at Port of Karachi and Port Qasim is in progress, and in May, a collaborative four-year project with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime was started to strengthen border management and illegal drug control.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2016.