US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson, on behalf of the USTDA, and PIA Managing Director Muhammad Aijaz Haroon signed the agreement under which a grant of Rs58 million will be provided for carrying out the feasibility study.
Under the MRO project, PIA would be offering maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities to other airlines of the region, said MD PIA Aijaz Haroon while talking to media persons. He said the facility will create revenues worth $100 million and up to 5,000 highly technical jobs.
Ambassador Patterson pointed out that over $9 billion potential existed in the region’s aviation sector which should be shared by the PIA for becoming an economically viable airline.
Haroon said this joint initiative by the USTDA and PIA underscores the confidence and trust in PIA’s engineering capabilities to create a state-of-the-art MRO facility in the region.
Answering a question, he said that PIA’s five-year business plan is focused on turning its cost centres into revenue centres and the focus on customer service will greatly help the airline return to past glory and profitability.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 26th, 2010.
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