Pakistan Approves Plan to Hand Over Islamabad Airport Operations to UAE in Landmark G2G Deal

The Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (CCoIGCT) on Thursday approved a plan to transfer the management of Islamabad International Airport to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement. The decision was taken on Thursday at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (CCoIGCT), chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The committee approved finalising a framework deal with the UAE for the transfer of operations, with a dedicated negotiation team, led by the prime minister’s adviser on privatization, tasked to settle terms in consultation with the defence, finance, law and privatisation ministries. Officials said the move is part of Islamabad’s broader economic revival strategy, which includes attracting foreign partners to modernise state assets, improve efficiency, and reduce losses at government-run entities. Similar outsourcing arrangements for other major airports are also under consideration. Inaugurated in 2018, Islamabad International Airport has struggled with operational inefficiencies and financial constraints. Authorities believe that partnering with the UAE under a G2G model will bring in global expertise, ensure better passenger services, and restore investor confidence in Pakistan’s aviation sector. The meeting was also attended by the petroleum minister, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, federal secretaries, and senior officials from relevant ministries. In July 2025, ProPakistani reported that the Government of Pakistan was moving towards finalizing a government-to-government (G2G) agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to outsource operations of Islamabad International Airport and would not be outsourced through an open bidding process, as earlier planned. Instead, the new strategy involves direct negotiations under the G2G mode.