Islamabad Airport concession looks destined to go to the Middle East
While the long-winded privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines drags on, events are moving more rapidly in the airport sector.
In 2022 the Qatar Investment Authority raised hopes that some of Pakistan's airports could be privatised when it let it be known it was attracted to the Karachi and Islamabad airports.
Now the government has invited technical and financial proposals for a 15-year concession to operate the airport in Islamabad, the capital. That airport continues to underachieve, compared to those in Delhi and Istanbul for example.
The other angle is the government needs to fill its coffers to assuage a balance of payments crisis.
Many western investors and operators would be very wary of entering such a volatile market, where there is political strife as well, but Pakistan has friends in hot places; primary interest in this transaction is most likely to come from the Middle East.
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