ISLAMABAD, Aug 9 (APP): Federal Minister for Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique on Wednesday said that the federal government has approved the new National Aviation Policy -2023 to help reviving the national carrier and promoting public-private joint ventures.
Addressing a press conference, the minister expressed the hope that under this new policy all missing aspects will be covered and private investors will be encouraged to invest in this sector.
He said that the policy will also help in promotion of the domestic aviation industry, attract private investment for the management and development of new airports, increasing facilities for passengers, improving consumers’ protection and encouraging aviation sector.
He said that the privatization or public-private investment is the only option to improve the standard of aviation sector in Pakistan as attracting international brands is not possible when the sector is working in limited resources. He said that the capturing the business of international brands is the need of the hours to increase business activities at country’s airports to increase revenue generation.
He said that the Islamabad Airport was being outsourced through international competitive bidding for 15 years but no employee would lose job. He said that the outsourcing does not mean that airports are being sold.
He said that the government had decided to outsource Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi airports. He said that the Civil Aviation Authority has issued tender for outsourcing of Islamabad Airport while applications have been sought by November 8 and so far 25 applications have been received.
He said that many countries have adopted the trend of outsourcing their airports for revenue generation including India that had planned to outsource its 25 airports.
He said that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was in a pathetic state despite efforts. However, he added, “We have laid the foundation to improve it.”
The minister said that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has inked an agreement with the New York City Government to lease out Roosevelt Hotel in the US state. The Roosevelt Hotel will be operated by the New York city local corporation for a period of three years, he added.
He said that under the agreement, the US firm will provide residential facilities to housing migrants in the hotel. He added the management had got an opportunity offered by the New York City government to utilize the hotel’s 1,025 rooms for migrant business.
“It will generate $220 million of investment for Pakistan with $18 million as clear profit.” He said that the Roosevelt Hotel was shut down during the coronavirus pandemic.
Replying to a question on Hazara Express incident, he denied any chance of terrorist attack and said that the negligence of Pakistan Railways officers and lack of resources are the main reasons behind this incident. He added that six officers have been suspended and the matter is being investigated.
“The responsible persons will be held to account but the actual responsibility lies in the lack of resources,” the minister said.
Khawaja Saad Rafique, who is also Minister for Railways has termed the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project “a backbone for the railways”. He stressed that the project, which was conceived under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), should be taken forward on a priority basis.
He said that the special directions have been issued to the Pakistan Railways administration to develop a strategy to make the production units of the railway profitable and private investors should also be given opportunities to join the railways production units.
He said that a detailed business plan of the Pakistan Railways Freight Transportation Company (PRFTC) has been prepared to take all possible steps to increase the revenue of the PRFTC, saying that the railway companies would have to increase revenue by getting business from private projects as well.
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