ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The government of Pakistan is planning to hold the final bidding for selling the majority stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by mid-December, as four prequalified consortia are in advanced negotiations over commercial terms, said the Secretary of the Privatization Division.
The update was given to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. Talks are underway with shortlisted bidders regarding share purchase and shareholders’ agreement, the secretary said, adding that the federal cabinet will approve the reserve price ahead of the bidding. Pre-bid negotiations have been underway for the last three days.
The four prequalified bidders are Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd, Air Blue (Pvt) Ltd, the consortium of Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures, and the group led by Arif Habib Corporation, along with Fatima Fertilizer, City Schools, and Lake City Holdings.
Early this month, the Privatization Commission Board approved the inclusion of AKD Group Holdings (Pvt) Ltd in the Arif Habib-led consortium.
Committee Chairman Farooq Sattar called on the government to guarantee ample job security for PIA employees and maximum transparency in the privatization process. Earlier, the reserve price of PIA was kept at Rs. 85 billion.
“The airline has to be sold, but employee protection must be assured,” Sattar said. The committee recommended that at least five years of job protection should be given to PIA staff and full safeguards accorded to pensioners.
Officials informed the legislators that the current fleet size of PIA was 18 aircraft, and it needed 35 to 38 more for viable operations. The future owners will have to retain experienced staff.
In a related development, the government is considering transferring power distribution companies to private management under long-term concession agreements, akin to a Turkish model, rather than full privatisation.
Such concession agreements could run for as long as 25 years, during which private operators will be allowed to invest and upgrade infrastructure.
It will target privatization of the Islamabad, Gujranwala, and Faisalabad electric supply companies in the first phase, though the issuance of their requests for proposals has been delayed. Officials say the process is expected to reach an advanced stage by March.
The Power Division further informed the committee that to curtail power theft, all three-phase electricity meters across the country will be replaced with AMI meters by December 2026. The Islamabad region has already installed 1.5 million AMI meters, and losses in the area have reduced by 2%.
Addressing a 33-year delay in the privatisation of Pakistan Engineering Company (Peco), officials said the company has been placed under the Special Investment Facilitation Council by the prime minister.
The committee requested a formal progress report from the SIFC. Privatization Division further informed the legislators about the status at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, and the Ministry of Industries and Production assured that all pending dues of Utility Stores employees have been cleared.
