The Economic Coordination Council (ECC) of the Cabinet was told on Thursday that the process of outsourcing three airports under the Public-Private Partnership Act-2017 had started.
In a statement, the Finance Division said that in order to administer the airports, develop relevant land assets, improve avenues for commercial operations, and realize the maximum income potential, the government will engage a private investor/airport operator.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, was being considered by the ECC as a transaction adviser for the outsourcing of three airports. This was according to a report from the Ministry of Aviation.
“IFC has been approved as a qualified transaction advisor in this regard. Following a thorough deliberation, the ECC accepted the proposed Transaction Advisory Agreement (TASA) that PCCA had agreed with the IFC for the outsourcing of three airports.
In its summary sent to ECC, the Aviation Division noted that for the past few years, the federal government has been considering various options to outsource the operation of Pakistan’s major airports in order to improve passenger service and maximize the realization of their revenue potential. This was done in light of international best practices.
The federal cabinet made many decisions in this respect, and in accordance with them, among other things, an Expression of Interest (EOI) was issued for the hiring of an audit company to draft ideas for the corporatization of airports.
A committee of ministers was also established by the Federal Cabinet to monitor the whole procedure. The procedure, nevertheless, was unable to come to a conclusion.
The Declaration of Commerciality and Field Development Plan for the Hilal and Iqbal discoveries in favor of Mari Petroleum Company Limited were also taken into consideration and authorized by the ECC. (MPCL).
With effect from August 28, 2022, it awarded Polish Oil & Gas Company Limited (POGC) a two-year extension of the Kirthar exploration license block.
Additionally, the Cabinet body authorized MPCL to conduct Extended Well Testing (EWT) on the Ghazi-1 finding.
The ECC also made the decision to award a supplemental grant of Rs607,6 million to the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) for the implementation of development plans in Sindh.
It approved Rs1,689.5 million in favor of the Ministry of Housing and Works for the SDGs Achievement Program (SAP)’s implementation of development projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.
The Ministry of Housing and Works has been granted permission to spend Rs5 billion on development projects in the former FATA.
It postponed action on the summary of the implementation agreement made between the government of Pakistan and K-Electric (formerly KESC) on the outstanding issue of duty and tax payment provided by the Ministry of Energy’s Power Division.
Today’s ECC of the Cabinet meeting was chaired over by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Syed Murtaza Mahmud, Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar and Federal Minister for Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique.
