ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan is working on a plan to outsource the airport management system of Pakistan, in order to improve international terminals. Prime Minister Imran Khan had sought a briefing from the Aviation Division on outsourcing the management system, the sources told.
Officials said that the existing plight of the airports, especially international terminals, was critical, as it gave a deserted look compared to other international cities. Now, the government wants to work on a comprehensive policy to improve international airports involving all stakeholders and technical experts.
The initiative aims to bring improvement in facilities at international terminals. There is a need to improve these facilities in order to promote tourism, investment and a better image of the country, officials said.
The plan of outsourcing the airport management system of Pakistan is a part of the present government’s agenda to bring innovation and improvement at international airports, said an official at the Aviation Division.
TheAviation Division spokesperson Abdul Sattar Khokhar said the plan is being discussed to outsource system; however, operational and regulatory control would be kept with the government. He said that maintenance of building, parking and passenger services would be outsourced to qualified firms.
The Aviation Division shall complete all formalities to separate regulatory functions of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) from estate and airport management and furnish a compliance report to the prime minister within one month. The government has also drafted a new aviation policy, as it feels the previous aviation policy, framed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, had not brought any improvement in the sector. The national aviation policy was earlier launched in 2015 with a view to bring healthy changes in the aviation sector of Pakistan. However, due to some reasons, the policy could not trigger desired positive changes.
