Only the management of technical operations at Afghan airports will be contracted out to companies, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) said on Monday, saying that the general management will be led by the Afghan government. 

The ministry said that negotiations over the management of technical issues of Afghan airports are ongoing between the Afghan team and the delegations from Qatar and Turkey.

A spokesman for the ministry, Imamuddin Ahmadi, said that a final decision would be reached within the next two weeks. 

“We will not give the management of the airports to anyone. We will make contracts over the technical affairs of the international airports with standard and international companies,” said Imamuddin Ahmadi, a spokesman for the ministry. “Some members of the technical teams have been infected with Covid-19. Also, with the arrival of the new year, the delegations went for vacation and therefore the negotiations have been delayed. But the technical teams are in contact, so a final decision can be reached.”  

The talks are focused on technical issues including air sovereignty control, safery of airplanes and passengers, as well as ground services. 

A joint delegation of Qatar and Turkey arrived in Kabul last month to discuss the management of the Afghanistan’s major airports with the Islamic Emirate.

The two sides then reached an agreement over the formation of technical teams to follow up on the issue.  

The Afghan technical team is comprised of seven members which are led by MoTCA.  

The potential contracts are expected to increase the number of international flights to and from Afghanistan. After the fall of the former government, Afghanistan air space has seen a significant reduction in revenue.  

“It is important for Afghanistan to immediately reach an agreement with the Turkish and Qatari companies to pave the ground for the resumption of the international flights, so our commercial ties extend to other countries,” said Abdul Hai Qani, a political analyst.  

Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Kandahar and Khost airports have the facilities for international flights. However, after the fall of the former government, the number of flights massively dropped due to the lack of technical personnel.