ISLAMABAD, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan will privatize the core business of its national airline Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)) before mid-April this year, according to local reports Tuesday.

Quoting Minister for Privatization, Daniyal Aziz, the reports said that the country will finalize the privatization process of the core business of the airlines relating to management and flight operation.

The minister said that all other properties of the airlines would remain in custody of the federal government. "The government was also planning to establish another company under which all the fixed assets of PIA would be managed," the minister said.

Aziz said that during privatization process, all legal rights and monetary benefits of the employees of the airlines would be fully protected.

He said that PIA is a burden on the country's economy as it has been suffering losses since decades, adding that total losses recorded by the government till March 2017 were 2.093 billion U.S. dollars.

He said that the privatization process of the national flag carrier would be highly beneficial for the country's economy, as it will help overcoming the losses faced by the airlines.

Aziz said that people would enjoy more competitive flights with state-of-the-art international facilities by the privatization of PIA.

He added that the money generated from the privatization of the airlines would be spent on the development sectors at gross root level.