Pakistan is pushing for outsourcing operations of airports (Representational)
Islamabad:
The Pakistan government is pushing to outsource the operation of major airports amid the ever-dwindling foreign exchange reserves. As reported by Dawn, the finance minister has already called several meetings of the committee set up to include foreign operators for outsourcing.
Dawn quoted sources as saying that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar asked the stakeholders to finalize the formalities of outsourcing the operations of the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) by August 12, the last day of the current government’s tenure.
Dawn is a national daily of Pakistan which reports on the politics and current affairs of Pakistan.
The minister on Saturday chaired the steering committee meeting to assess the progress of airport operations outsourcing.
A source close to the meeting told Dawn that the committee had given clear instructions to complete the processes required for IIA outsourcing on a priority basis, reports Dawn.
An official announcement issued after the meeting said the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), the transaction advisor for outsourcing, briefed the meeting on the progress.
Dar wants the changes in aviation laws to be approved before the end of the month. The meeting also agreed to fast-track outsourcing of IIA to improve service delivery in line with best industry practices, reports Dawn.
IFC also made a presentation to the committee, which also decided on the future roadmap for outsourcing IIA operations.
On 31 March, the Economic Coordination Committee decided to end the 25-year outsourcing of operations and land assets at Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi airports. Their work will be carried out through public-private partnership to generate foreign exchange.
In the meeting on Saturday, Dar also gave a deadline to the departments concerned to amend civil aviation laws and finalize the restructuring plan for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Dawn reported.
The amendments are being made to separate the functions of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, PIA and Airport Security Force. Its objective is to eliminate the overlapping responsibilities of these organizations by framing an ordinance.
The minister insisted on getting the amendments approved by Parliament before the end of July. The timeline is significant as it will allow global aviation regulators to send inspectors in August for on-ground assessment of operational systems and standards required to restore PIA’s flights to the US, UK and Europe. As Dawn reports, failure to meet this deadline will result in a one-year delay in getting the inspection done.
PIA flights to these destinations have been suspended since 2020 following a controversy over pilots’ professional degrees and other aircraft safety standards.
The meeting chaired by the Finance Minister was also attended by Federal Aviation and Railways Minister Saad Rafiq, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Finance Tariq Bajwa, Aviation Division Secretary, CEO of Public Private Partnership Authority, Director General PCAA, IFC representative and other government officials. officers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV Staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)