Government adds three major airports to revised privatisation plan

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has included Pakistan’s three biggest international airports in its updated five-year privatisation programme, alongside a wider plan covering 25 state-owned entities in three phases.

Under the revised plan, Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Islamabad International Airport and Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore have been placed on the list of public assets marked for private sector participation. The three airports were not part of the earlier privatisation programme.

Three-phase roadmap

The updated strategy sets out divestment or restructuring for 25 state-owned entities over a five-year period. It says 11 entities are to be taken up in the first phase over the next year, 13 entities in the second phase covering one to three years, and one entity in the final phase spanning three to five years.

The latest list does not include Pakistan International Airlines and First Women Bank Limited, as the government considers the privatisation of both organisations to have been completed successfully.

Entities listed in first phase

Along with the three airports, the first phase includes Islamabad Electric Supply Company, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company, Gujranwala Electric Power Company, the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited, House Building Finance Company, Pakistan Engineering Company and Sindh Engineering Limited.

The second phase covers Utility Stores Corporation, Lahore Electric Supply Company, Multan Electric Power Company, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company, Sukkur Electric Power Company, Peshawar Electric Supply Company and Hazara Electric Supply Company.

It also includes Jamshoro Power Company, Central Power Generation Company Limited, Northern Power Generation Company Limited, Lakhra Power Generation Company Limited, State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan and Pakistan Reinsurance Company Limited.

Under the third and final phase, the programme envisages the privatisation of Postal Life Insurance Company.

Broader reform agenda

The revised roadmap is part of the government’s broader effort to lower the financial burden created by loss-making public sector enterprises, improve operational efficiency and draw private investment under its economic reform agenda.

The programme also aligns with Pakistan’s structural reform commitments aimed at strengthening fiscal sustainability and expanding the private sector’s role in the economy.