Govt decides to outsource topmost airports

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the Aviation Ministry to start the process of outsourcing of the country’s three major airports, Jinnah International Karachi, Islamabad International, and Allama Iqbal International Lahore under public-private partnership.

An important meeting on aviation and Pakistan International Airlines affairs was held on Friday in Islamabad under the chairmanship of PM Shehbaz.

The prime minister instructed all relevant institutions to take steps in the process of outsourcing of airports on a priority basis. He further directed them to look into the transparency as it should be taken care of in all this process.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the outsourcing of Pakistani airports. The meeting was told that outsourcing of airports worldwide is a common profitable practice and it is considered as international best practices.

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The meeting was told that initially the two major airports of the country, Jinnah International Karachi and Islamabad International outsourcing will be done and this process will be done under public-private partnership. Outsourcing of airports will not only bring profit to the government, but international level facilities will also be available to the passengers at the airports.

Regarding the completion of the process of outsourcing of airports on an effective and priority basis, the prime minister directed to form a special committee which will be chaired by the prime minister himself.

The committee will include Federal Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Federal Secretary Aviation Division and Federal Secretary Planning.

The meeting was told that a briefing was also given regarding the performance of Pakistan International Airlines. The meeting was told that PIA has achieved a revenue of 172 billion rupees during the year 2022, which is the highest revenue in the history of PIA.

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The meeting was further informed that four A-320 aircraft have been added to PIA’s fleet and the airline’s network has also been expanded and PIA is currently operating 330 weekly flights. The meeting was informed that a strategy has been made to make PIA a profitable airline; efforts are being made to remove the ban imposed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency on PIA.

Besides, the meeting was informed that wide body aircrafts are being added to the fleet of PIA. The meeting was informed that a plan is ready to revive the brand image of PIA. The meeting was further informed that the lounges of Karachi and Lahore airports have been upgraded.

The prime minister expressed happiness over PIA’s revenue and appreciated the performance of Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq and related officers and directed PIA to take steps to make it a profitable airline.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Jahanzeb Khan and relevant senior government officials participated in the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022