KARACHI: Pakistan is to proceed with the sale via tender of a contract to manage Islamabad airport after consultations with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

In March Pakistan had kicked off the outsourcing of operations at three major airports and the ministry said Islamabad airport was the first of these to be affected, as the country seeks to generate foreign exchange reserves for its ailing economy.

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In a statement the ministry said it had been unanimously agreed for the outsourcing of operations at Islamabad airport to go ahead in order to improve service delivery in line with best industry practices.

Officials say Pakistan has been in talks with Qatar to jointly run the terminals at Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore airports. The Qatar Investment Authority pledged to invest $3 billion in Pakistan after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Doha late last year.