Govt begins outsourcing of three major airports

The government on Thursday kicked off outsourcing of operations and land assets at three major airports to be run through a public-private partnership, a finance ministry statement said, a move to generate foreign exchange reserves. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved the hiring of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) — the private sector arm of the World Bank Group — as a transaction adviser to outsource Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad airports to the private sector for at least 25 years. The committee’s meeting, presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, deferred a summary submitted by the power division on implementing an agreement signed between the government and K-Electric on the pending issue of payment of duties and taxes. It also approved a series of supplementary grants, mostly for political schemes, under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “The outsourcing of three airports has been initiated within the scope of public-private partnership … to engage private investor/airport operator through a competitive and transparent process to run the airports, develop appertaining land assets and enhance avenues for commercial activities and to garner full revenue potential,” the ministry said.