KARACHI – Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is working on a major fleet expansion plan aimed at increasing its aircraft strength to 60 as part of its ongoing revival strategy, the official said on Saturday.
Speaking at an event held at the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), PIA Consortium Chairman Arif Habib said the national carrier currently has 30 aircraft, out of which 18 are in active service while five to six are under maintenance and repair.
He said efforts are underway to restore grounded aircraft, which would raise the operational fleet to around 26 in the near term. The long-term objective, he added, is to expand the fleet size to 60 aircraft.
Habib said he considered it an honour to represent the business community at the policy level and emphasized the need to apprise government institutions of industrial concerns.
He pointed out that Pakistan’s economy had shown signs of stabilization, citing improvements in revenue collection, expenditure management, and debt servicing. However, he stressed that reducing production costs was essential for sustainable economic growth.
Highlighting the energy sector, he said high electricity tariffs were largely driven by capacity payments due to low consumption. He suggested that better utilization of the existing transmission capacity—over 22,000 megawatts—could help reduce electricity rates by Rs10 to Rs12 per unit if demand increases.
He also called for unity within the business community, urging stakeholders to move beyond political divisions and present a coordinated stance to the government for effective policymaking. He identified information technology, agriculture, and mining as key sectors with strong potential to drive economic growth.
Meanwhile, Abad Chairperson Hasan Bakhshi proposed that the private sector should consider taking over the management of struggling public sector institutions, including the Water Board, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, and Sindh Building Control Authority, stating that their performance had remained inadequate.
He argued that the business community, as key stakeholders, could manage such entities more efficiently and improve service delivery.
