The Malawi government is mulling over a plan to bring private investment into the country's aviation sector, local newspaper Malawi Nation reported on its website Tuesday.

The paper said government has engaged a consultant to conduct a study on how the private sector can participate in the country's aviation sector, particularly airports.

And the Privatization Commission (PC) is working with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works in rationalizing the sector, the paper cited PC's newsletter as saying.

The study, scheduled for completion this month, will assess the business needs of all the country's airports with special focus on Chileka and Kamuzu international airports.

The study is also expected to recommend the appropriate institutional framework for the sector, ensuring that there is a separation between the safety and regulation aspects and the operations of the airports.

PC Information, Education and Communications Manager Susan Banda was cited by the paper as saying once the Commission receives the report, it will organize a stakeholders workshop to get their input into the final report before bringing in transaction advisors.

"We expect to start implementing this process (looking for private sector partners) towards the end of this year," said Banda.

The Malawi government has adopted a Public-Private sector Partnership stance in the utility sector as a way of retaining some control while attracting the much needed technical expertise and financial resources from the private sector.

The country is also implementing the same strategy in the water and electricity industry, said the paper.

Source: Xinhua