Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday approved the process of outsourcing Pakistan’s three international airports aimed at facilitating better services and adding revenue to the government.
In a meeting held on Friday, Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif gave a go-ahead to outsource Jinnah International Airport Karachi, Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore, and Islamabad International Airport under the public-private partnership.
Outsourcing airports is a “normal profit-seeking practice” throughout the world. Doing so would not only provide revenue to the government but would also help improve facilities for travelers.
Improving airport services is significantly important in the current context of Pakistan as the government is striving to attract foreign investment and give the country a decent image in terms of aviation facilities, maintaining standards, and offering a satisfactory experience to international travelers.
Meanwhile including private companies in the public sector creates healthy competition among companies in offering standardized services, and paving the way for efficiency and transparency in the process.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the cabinet members also discussed Pakistan International Airlines’ performance and revenues over the past year. It was informed that PIA had collected revenue worth Rs172 billion during 2022 — the highest in the history of the airline. Four new A-320 planes have been added to the PIA fleet as part of the expansion of its network.
Not only the cabinet members but also the general public in Pakistan are optimistic about the outsourcing process of the country’s major international airports. Many experts believe that the outsourcing process should have been completed months earlier.
This initiative comes into practice as Pakistan’s current government is faced with deep economic challenges amid growing threats of terror activities by militant groups across the country.
