ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatisation process has seen significant progress as four local parties have been declared eligible for bidding, three of which are from the cement industry.
In a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Privatisation Muhammad Ali, the board reviewed the “Statement of Qualification” submitted by five candidate groups and declared four parties suitable based on technical, financial, and documentary requirements.
The first consortium declared eligible consists of Lucky Cement Limited, Hub Power Holdings Limited, Kohat Cement Company Limited and Metro Ventures (Private) Limited.
The second consortium consists of Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited, City Schools (Private) Limited and Lake City Holdings (Private) Limited.
Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited, owned by Fauji Foundation, was also declared eligible to bid as a private company, while Air Blue (Private) Limited, the only company that operates the airline, was also declared eligible.
According to the Privatisation Commission, the parties declared eligible will now enter the next phase, which is an important stage of the transparent privatisation process.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, has approved the joint venture model for the privatisation of the expensive Roosevelt Hotel in New York.
According to a report by Financial Advisor Jones Lang LaSalle, the government of Pakistan will include the cost of the land as capital in the joint venture and will not pay any additional amount.
The initial agreement for the joint venture will be immediate while the final agreement will be in 2027. An offer has been made to privatize 51% to 100% of the shares for the sale of majority shares and management control of PIA.
According to Advisor to the Prime Minister Muhammad Ali, the bidding process is expected in the last quarter of this year (October-December).
