ISLAMABAD – The embattled coalition government in Pakistan led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to hand over three key airports of the country to international operators.
According to a statement released to the media by the Prime Minister’s Office, the decision was taken at a meeting chaired by PM Shehbaz Sharif on Friday.
At the meeting, matters related to aviation and airports came under discussion, the official statement said. Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi airports would be handed over to international operators as part of government’s efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and provide world-class facilities to passengers, it added.
The airports that will be outsourced are Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore and Islamabad International Airport in the federal capital.
The statement says the prime minister has directed all relevant departments to take effective steps to complete the airports outsourcing process in a transparent and timely manner.
The officials at the meeting gave the prime minister a detailed briefing about outsourcing of the airports. The meeting was informed that it was a normal practice to outsource airports to make profit throughout the world.
The meeting was told that initially Islamabad and Lahore airports will be outsourced under a public-private partnership (PPP).
The outsourcing of these airports would not only provide revenue to the government but also help improve facilities for international travellers.
The officials also briefed the meeting about the performance of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
They said the PIA earned Rs172 billion revenue in 2022, which was the highest in the history of the national airline.
They said that four new A-320 passenger planes have been added to the PIA fleet. Moreover, the network of the airline has been expanded.