Pre-bidding of Islamabad airport takes place

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad International Airport, Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport and Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport will be leased next year.

Another pre-bidding technical meeting will be held in November under the supervision of IFC, a subsidiary of the World Bank, which has been the financial adviser to the government of Pakistan, to lease the Islamabad International Airport, built by the most advanced Chinese companies in Pakistan. If the second meeting is not held by the end of November, it will be held in Islamabad in December.

Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Saifullah told Jang that international airport operating companies from Europe, Asia and the Pacific region, including Turkey, the UAE, Qatar and Spain, are interested in leasing the Islamabad International Airport. Interested international airport operators will conduct a detailed inspection of the airport after which they would send their reports to head offices. The federal government will continue to own the assets of the airport, but its terminal building, offices, shops, car parking and commercial areas will be leased.

The second pre-bidding of the Islamabad airport will take place next month. The first pre-bidding meeting was held on September 26 in Dubai, which was attended by chief executive officers of airport operating companies, financial experts and heads of legal departments of companies. The pre-bidding meeting was organized by the International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank, whose services have been hired by the government of Pakistan to outsource the Islamabad airport. Similar to the first pre-bidding meeting held in Dubai on September 26, in the second pre-bidding of a technical nature in the end of next month or early December, Turkey’s Airport Operating Company, the UAE, Qatar, Spain, along with many European countries, Australia and Asia will participate.

Airport operating companies of the countries will participate in person and online. In this regard, sources in the Civil Aviation Authority say that the outsourced organisation would remain the property of the government of Pakistan, while the ownership of an organisation, like PIA, which will be privatized, would be transferred to the new buyer.

The commercial areas of the Islamabad airport including its terminal building, car parking, offices, shops, international brands and showcases/restaurants will be given on lease next year. The outsourcing process of the Islamabad airport is expected to be completed early next year.