Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday issued instructions to start the process of outsourcing three major airports including Jinnah International Karachi, Islamabad International, and Allama Iqbal International Lahore under a public-private partnership.
According to the 24News HD TV channel, PM Shehbaz Sharif presided over an important meeting on aviation and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) related issues in Islamabad on Friday.
The channel report said, PM Shehbaz has directed that in the process of outsourcing airports, all relevant institutions should take faster steps on a priority basis and transparency should be taken care of in this process.
The meeting was briefed by the authorities about the outsourcing of Pakistani airports. The meeting was informed that the PIA has succeeded to earn a revenue of Rs172 billion during 2022 which is the highest ever in PIA's history.
The meeting was told that outsourcing of airports around the world is a common profitable practice and it is considered among the international best practices.
The meeting was told that initially the two major airports of the country, Jinnah International Karachi and Islamabad International, will be outsourced and this process will be done under a 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.
In the first phase, the meeting decided to run the above-mentioned three airports in the country through international operations that will have an international reputation.
International operators will help run these airports for a period of 20 to 25 years.
The meeting also approved receiving assistance from the World Bank's subsidiary organization--the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The IFC will also provide consultancy and international standards of service at the airports.
The Prime Minister initially issued instructions to start the process of outsourcing the country's three major airports, Jinnah International Karachi, Islamabad International, and Allama Iqbal International Lahore under a public-private partnership, saying that all relevant institutions should speed up in this regard. Take steps and take special care of transparency in this process.
The Prime Minister directed to formation of a special committee to complete the process of outsourcing airports on an effective and priority basis.
The special committee will be chaired by the Prime Minister himself, Federal Minister of Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Federal Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar, Federal Secretary of Aviation Division and Federal Secretary of Planning will be included in the committee.