ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad International Airport would be outsourced for 15 years initially to provide better services to the flyers, Adviser to Prime Minister on Aviation Air Marshal (retd) Farhat Hussain Khan confirmed.
During a session of the Upper Chamber of the Parliament on Tuesday, Khan detailed that the airports in Karachi and Lahore would also be outsourced but the decision in this regard would be made based on a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The advisor elaborated that a Transaction Advisory Services Agreement (TASA) had been signed between the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to outsource the operations of three international airports in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.
Khan informed the lawmakers that the IFC, a subsidiary of the World Bank Group, would act as a transactional advisor for the outsourcing of airports and Islamabad International Airport has been selected as the first airport to be outsourced.
The advisor said that the successful bidder for Islamabad International Airport will be disclosed after the bidding process is completed.
As far as the timeline is concerned, the advisor mentioned that the award of concession for outsourcing is expected to be completed before June 2024.
As far as the services to be outsourced are concerned, the advisor clarified that only the operation and management of specific airport components would be outsourced, while critical services such as the Air Traffic Control Tower, Rescue and fire Fighting Services and Air Navigation services would remain under the administrative control of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.
He said that the successful bidder would pay an initial amount and a percentage of revenue earned from the airport, adding that a one-time initial payment of $100 million is required from the successful bidder, The Nation reported.
The legislator confirmed that regarding the initial amount for other airports, the decision would be made based on the study by IFC.
Pakistan International Airlines
The advisor also commented on the privatisation of the national carrier and said that the process was transparent.
Air Marshal (retd) Farhat Hussain Khan said PIA will be privatised as a flight entity and the decision on its other properties will be made by the Privatisation Commission.
The Senators were also informed that the national carrier earned operational profit in Jan-June 2023 but due to high financing costs and exchange losses, it incurred a net loss of Rs61.6 billion as of June 30, 2023.
PIA has accumulated liabilities of Rs809 billion as of the same date, the advisor said.
