CM Maryam Nawaz approves 'Air Punjab' airline, high-speed rail projects
Pakistan
Maryam Nawaz directed arrangements be made to establish Air Punjab as best airline
LAHORE (Dunya News) - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved the launch of 'Air Punjab', the province's first-ever airline project.
During a meeting chaired by the chief minister in Lahore, the 'Air Punjab' project was formally presented, with a decision to immediately lease four Airbus aircraft. Maryam Nawaz directed that arrangements be made to establish Air Punjab as the country’s best airline.
The session also reviewed the Lahore Yellow Line and the Gujranwala Mass Transit Line projects. Instructions were issued to complete the Yellow Line project study — from Thokar Niaz Baig to Harbanspura — by May 30, while the Gujranwala project study has a deadline of June 15. Updates were also provided on the e-taxi project.
Additionally, principle approval was granted for a Lahore-to-Rawalpindi bullet train project, in collaboration with Pakistan Railways. Various options were considered, including a public-private partnership model. Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has been tasked with coordinating with Pakistan Railways.
Maryam Nawaz also requested plans for high-speed trains on six additional routes across Punjab. Planned routes are Lahore to Shahdara and Narowal; Lahore through Raiwind, Kasur, and Pakpattan to Lodhran; Sheikhupura to Jaranwala to Shorkot; Shorkot to Jhang and onward to Sargodha; Lala Musa to Sargodha via Mandi Bahauddin; and Faisalabad to Chak Jhumra and Shahinabad.
AZMA BOKHARI
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said on Saturday the Air Punjab would begin its operations within a year.
She told a press conference that the Punjab government had floated the idea of Air Punjab in November 2024 after the federal government’s failed attempt to sell the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
“This service would begin in a minimum of eight months and at the most, a year,” she said, adding that CM Maryam Nawaz had accorded approval to the project.
