The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Thursday extended the bid submission date for outsourcing of Islamabad International Airport. As per details, the decision to extend the tender date came in the wake of a lack of interest from the bidders in the outsourcing of the Airport. Hereby, the CAA extended the bid submission date for two months to May 15 and applications were sought from the investors who are interested in the outsourcing of the Islamabad Airport. Earlier, the federal government issued tenders to seek applications for outsourcing Islamabad International Airport for 15 years. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the interested bidders were directed to submit their applications in favor of CAA a Rs5,000 fee by November 8.

Prior to this, the government decided to outsource Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad International Airports. Sources said the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkiye, China and Saudi Arabia are taking special interest in outsourcing all three airports? Following the decision to outsource, the CAA unions launched a protest movement. After continued protest, Aviation Minister, Khawaja Saad called on the leaders of the unions for negotiations, but talks failed. The CAA employees are adamant in their stance and declare that they will not allow the outsourcing of airports. Addressing the media during the protest, a spokesperson for the CAA Union asserted that the protest movement will continue until their demands are met.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan