ISLAMABAD – The federal government has included Pakistan’s three largest international airports in its revised five-year privatisation programme as part of a broader plan to divest or restructure 25 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), according to official documents cited by The News.
The updated roadmap adds Jinnah International Airport, Islamabad International Airport and Allama Iqbal International Airport to the list of assets earmarked for private sector participation. The three airports were not included in the government’s previous privatisation programme.
Under the revised strategy, 25 state-owned entities will be privatised or restructured in three phases. The first phase, to be completed within a year, covers 11 entities, while 13 entities will be taken up in the second phase over one to three years. The final phase, spanning three to five years, includes one remaining entity.
The latest plan excludes Pakistan International Airlines and First Women Bank Limited, with the government considering the privatisation of both organisations to have been completed.
Alongside the three airports, the first phase includes the privatisation of IESCO, FESCO, GEPCO, the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, ZTBL, HBFC, PECO and Sindh Engineering Limited.
The second phase covers the Utility Stores Corporation, LESCO, MEPCO, HESCO, SEPCO, PESCO, HAZECO, Jamshoro Power Company, Central Power Generation Company Limited, Northern Power Generation Company Limited, Lakhra Power Generation Company Limited, State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan and Pakistan Reinsurance Company Limited.
The third and final phase envisages the privatisation of the Postal Life Insurance Company as part of the government’s wider economic reform agenda aimed at reducing the financial burden of loss-making public enterprises, improving efficiency and attracting private investment.
