Services at major airports to be outsourced
CABINET AIMS TO RAISE FACILITIES TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
The Pakistan government has decided to outsource its major airports in a bid to bring services up to the international standards.
In the first phase, three international airports in main cities including Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi will be outsourced.
The decision to outsource the airport services in Pakistan had initially been taken during former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s tenure but the project could not be completed as Sharif was dethroned by the court and was sentenced to ten years in prison..
The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) had also invited international aviation services companies in 2017 to submit bids to run Pakistani airports but the project was shelved due to political turmoil in the country.
Cabinet meeting
However, Imran Khan’s PTI government reviewed the project in 2019 and now has decided to go ahead with it.
The Federal Cabinet chaired by Imran on Tuesday constituted a committee to
prepare a legal framework by June 30 to outsource airports.
The Minister of Information and Broadcasting Senator, Shibli Faraz, said the government was looking for some international firm that had an experience to operate and manage the airports.
The objective of the move was to bring Pakistan’s airports up to the international standards with the provision of all those facilities that were available at the major airports of the developed countries, he said.
Regulatory structure
The Imran Khan government wants to separate the regulatory structure for the aviation industry and the management.
The plan is outsource services and management but keep the regulatory control with the government.
Faraz said the cabinet meeting was informed that some international firms had already shown interest in the matter. “A legal framework will be devised before the tendering process starts,” he added.
The committee headed by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan will give its recommendations by June 30, the minister said.