Pak’s Islamabad Airport To Be ‘Outsourced’ For 15 Years: Report

Pakistan’s aviation minister said the move would improve its “operational activities”.

Islamabad:

Pakistan’s Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq told the National Assembly that Islamabad airport will be outsourced for 15 years to improve its ‘operational activities’, Geo News reported on Friday.

This comes at a time when Pakistan is facing severe economic crisis with high inflation and depleting foreign exchange reserves.

The minister, however, claimed that the move did not amount to privatisation, but was aimed at “bringing in skilled operators to enhance airport operations”.

He further emphasized that open competitive bidding would be ensured, giving an opportunity to the best bidder to operate the airport, adding that the process would be profit-oriented, which would ultimately benefit the national exchequer.

International Finance Corporation will act as advisor and already 12 to 13 companies have shown interest in participating in the bidding process, he said. He also assured that the process will be transparent and all rules and regulations will be followed.

However, the aviation minister said that runway and navigation operations will not be included in the outsourcing process.

The action comes weeks after the IMF approved a US$3 billion bailout for Pakistan to avoid defaulting on its debt payments.

In addition, Pakistan also received financial assistance of US$1 billion and US$2 billion, respectively, from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to shore up its dwindling reserves, apart from IMF relief.

With foreign exchange reserves barely enough for a month of skyrocketing inflation and controlled imports, Pakistan is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, which analysts say could turn into debt default in the absence of an IMF agreement.

The deal comes after a delay of eight months and provides some relief to Pakistan, which is grappling with a severe balance of payments crisis and depleting foreign exchange reserves.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV Staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)