On Friday , 21 July , Pakistan's Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique announced in the Pakistani National Assembly that the Islamabad Airport will be outsourced for next 15 years.
“The navigational services and runway operations will not be outsourced. The CAA will continue to do it,” he said on the floor of the house. “The rest will be outsourced.”
As per News Agency The Dawn , In response to a calling attention notice in National Assembly sponsored by MMA lawmaker Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali regarding the outsourcing of the airport, the minister clarified that the move does not equate to privatization. Instead, it aims to bring in proficient operators to enhance airport operations.
He also added that the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank offshoot, is the government’s consultant on the matter.
The finance ministry had said in March that efforts to outsource airports had begun. Late last month, the government said it was looking to outsource only the Islamabad Airport at the moment. Last week, the Civil Aviation Authority told an NA panel that outsourcing was in motion.
Khawaja Saad Rafique emphasized that open competitive bidding would be ensured, allowing the best bidder to be given the opportunity to operate the airport. The process, he said will be profit-oriented, ultimately benefiting the national exchequer.
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The minister said on the floor of the house that
“12-13 companies have shown interest and that there will be competitive bidding”. He assured the lawmakers that the public procurement rules are being completely followed. “We are proceeding under the private-public partnership authority rules,” he said.
“This will be Pakistan’s first airport that we are outsourcing. In it, the best international practices will be implemented,” the PML-N leader said, adding that afterwards, Lahore and Karachi’s airports will be outsourced.
“The whole world has done this. We must decide if we want to remain in the stone age.”
Highlighting the success of outsourced airports in other countries like India and Turkiye, Khawaja Saad Rafique mentioned that even Madina airport has been efficiently outsourced to deliver enhanced services. He said,
“In our neighbouring country India, there are around eight airports whose operations have been outsourced. Likewise, Istanbul’s airport is outsourced, Madinah’s airport is outsourced. There are countless examples.”
Assuring the step being taken is not privatisation , he said,
Outsourcing “does not at all mean” that the airport is being sold or mortgaged, or that anyone will be made jobless. “I have been repeatedly saying this, and I am stating on the floor of the house that [with regard to] Islamabad Airport — which the government wants to outsource and which we are working towards — no employee will be rendered jobless. Everyone will have job security and they will get their salaries as per the law.”
The minister also highlighted the need to restructure Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to address its substantial deficit, which has reached Rs. 80 billion this year and is projected to increase to Rs. 259 billion by 2030 if not dealt with appropriately.
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