ISLAMABAD: The meeting of the Steering Committee on Outsourcing of Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore Airports decided to extend the bid submission timeline for another 60 days - till May 15, 2024.

The meeting of the steering committee was held under the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The country director IFC briefed the progress made on the project of outsourcing of airports so far and informed the committee that multiple efforts of continuous engagement with the prospective investors have yielded positive results.

Suddenly airport outsourcing plans put on ice

Moreover, with the new political government in office confident of the investors to invest in Pakistan has augmented.

Furthermore, the international bidders from Qatar, UAE, Germany, Turkey, The Netherlands, Malaysia, and local consortia have requested an extension in bid submission timelines to complete their due diligence. The foreign minister assured the fullest support to the engaged investors through economic diplomacy and expeditious process for achieving successful outcome of this flagship project. Considering the requests of interested bidders and based on the strong recommendation of the IFC, the committee decided to extend the bid submission date for 60 days.

The foreign minister was further briefed on the progress made so far for the resumption of PIA flights to Europe and the UK and taking note of the progress made, he assured fullest diplomatic support of the Foreign Office in line with the newly adopted strategy of economic diplomacy and in the larger public interest including Pakistani diaspora in the UK and the EU.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar, Justice and Human Rights (on phone) and secretaries of Ministry of Aviation and Law Division along with senior government officials of ministries of Aviation, Foreign Affairs, Finance, and country director International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024