Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that the inauguration of Skardu International Airport would benefit tourism in Pakistan and foreigners would come to this area to find jobs.

During a day-long visit to the region on Thursday, PM Khan inaugurated the Skardu International Airport and Jaglot-Skardu road.

He predicted that tourists, including overseas Pakistanis and domestic tourists, would arrive in large numbers after the upgrade to the airport as well as the road.

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“We can make at least $30-$40 billion from tourism just in Gilgit Baltistan,” PM claimed.

Explaining his vision, PM said that “no country can truly develop until it elevates its poor and improves its backward and neglected areas”.

“It is my desire that by the time our five years are complete, the life in backward areas is better and the lives of people below the poverty line are improved,”he added.

The airport in Skardu was previously only operational for domestic flights. However, its status was elevated on December 2 when it began welcoming international flights.

A spokesperson for the National Highway Authority (NHA) said that the 167-kilometre Jaglot-Skardu road is the “main strategic road” that connects GB with the Karakoram Highway at Jaglot.