ISLAMABAD: A federal government plan to split the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) into two separate operational bodies, regulatory and an airport services division has moved into its final phase.
The government is planning to introduce an ordinance to restructure the CAA. The aviation authority has also submitted its recommendations pertaining to its reorganization under the proposed new law.
Under the ordinance, the regulatory body of CAA will be kept under the Cabinet Division while the CAA Airport Service of Pakistan (ASP) will be placed under the Aviation Division. The ASP will be registered as a separate entity under the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and all 43 airports of the country will subsequently operate under the new service.
According to sources, the government has also finalized legal consultation for changing the CAA management committee and amending its rules of business in accordance with the new model. They added that the government was now in the process of reviewing how it would go about dividing financial assets, mid-process revenue, stakeholder revenue, IT sector operations and human resources division.
As part of this ongoing review, the value of all CAA assets has been estimated. According to the resultant report, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the authority owns Rs656.61 billion worth of assets across the country, including the 44 airports under its umbrella.
CAA moveable assets are valued at Rs33.65 billion while immovable assets, including the airports and its offices, have an estimated value of Rs622.95 billion. Karachi is home to most of the aviation authority’s wealth, with Rs268 billion worth of its assets located there. It is followed by Islamabad, with Rs185.16 billion worth of CAA assets, and Lahore with assets valued at Rs136.66 billion.
