In a bid to shore up its foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan's government began the privatization of three major airports in the country, the Finance Ministry stated on Thursday.
Under the initiative, the ministry plans to outsource operations and hand over land assets of three airports, in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, to the private sector for 25 years.
"The outsourcing of three airports has been initiated within the scope of public-private partnership … to engage private investor/airport operator through a competitive and transparent process to run the airports, develop appertaining land assets and enhance avenues for commercial activities and to garner full revenue potential," the ministry said in a statement.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), the Pakistani government's top economic affairs body, has already hired the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group's private sector arm, to act as the advisor to its privatization plan, local media reported on Friday, citing the development.
The IFC's appointment as the transaction advisor to the project came after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) couldn't find another financial institution to take it up.
Eventually, the IFC agreed to offer its advisory services to the CAA for a fee of $4 million.
The government's latest move has come at a time when the cash-strapped nation has yet to finalize an agreement with global lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of a fresh tranche of $1.1 billion.
Pakistan is in desperate need of funds, with foreign reserves dropping by $354 million last week. Islamabad presently has $4.2 billion in its coffers, and can only sustain imports for over a month.