The federal government has decided to hand over the management of Islamabad International Airport to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The decision was made on Thursday during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (CCoIGCT), chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
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Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, and other top officials were also present. The committee approved the formation of a negotiation team, led by the Prime Minister’s adviser on privatisation, to finalise the deal with the UAE. The team will work with the finance, defence, law, and privatisation ministries.
Officials said the step is aimed at reducing financial losses, improving efficiency, and attracting foreign investment in Pakistan’s state institutions. Similar outsourcing deals for other major airports in the country are also under consideration.
Islamabad Airport, opened in April 2018, has faced many problems including poor management and financial issues. Authorities believe that UAE’s expertise will improve services for passengers and restore international confidence in Pakistan’s aviation sector.
The government had first planned to outsource the airport through open bidding but later chose a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement with the UAE, as it expected private bids to be too low.
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Earlier, the government had faced disappointment when Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) auction received only one bid worth Rs10 billion—much lower than the minimum price of Rs85 billion.
