UAE group eyes outsourcing of Karachi, Lahore Airports

Following a proposal from Turkiye to gain the authority to outsource operations at the Islamabad International Airport, a group from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also expressed interest in managing the airports in Karachi and Lahore.

Captain Muhammad Jumma Al Shamsi, a Manager Director of AD Ports Group in UAE, contacted the Ministry of Aviation, expressing interest in outsourcing Jinnah International Airport Karachi and Allah Iqbal International Airport Lahore.

If the matter reaches development, the terminal holding group will provide technical assistance to the ADP.

However, before receiving the outsourcing tender, the group also sought the statistics of passengers using two airports annually.

A questionnaire was sent by the ADP, seeking responses to 35 queries, including cargo data of the said airports, the number of employees, the volume of business annually, and per annum expenses.

A group from Turkiye is also interested in obtaining authorisation for the airports in Karachi and Lahore, in addition to submitting the proposal for the Islamabad airport.

On October 8, Pakistan had approved bidding documents for outsourcing the Islamabad International Airport to a Turkish company on a technical basis, said sources on Tuesday.

The bid had been submitted to the Pakistan Airports Authority headquarters in Karachi, which is currently being scrutinised. 

The offer will be presented before the authority's Board of Directors in a meeting scheduled for Monday.

According to sources, if the board approves the offer, the airport will be handed over to the Turkish company.