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ISLAMABAD: The privatisation commission has recommended the One-Transaction Structure option for the sale of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, a top official told the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation.
The Senate body, chaired by Senator Afnanullah Khan, was also informed by Privatisation Secretary Usman Akhtar Bajwa that a committee had been constituted to engage investors for another shot at selling off Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
During its meeting on Friday, the committee recommended that the privatisation commission tighten its pre-qualification criteria to restrict non-operational bidders, such as Blue World City, from participating in the upcoming bid.
A previous attempt to privatise the airline last year fell flat when it received only a single offer from Blue World City, which was far below the asking price of more than $300 million.
Process to invite fresh bids for PIA expected to start later this month
The government is now expected to seek fresh expressions of interest for the sale of the national flag carrier by the last week of April, Muhammad Ali, the PM’s adviser on privatisation, told Reuters in a recent interview.
“In our last attempt to privatise PIA, pre-qualified bidders had some issues with taxation and the balance sheet. Those are taken care of now,” he said, adding that the pre-qualification criteria had also been revised.
The government aims to complete the sell-off by the end of 2025. The offer for the sale — 51 to 100 per cent shares with management control — will remain unchanged. However, the exact percentage will be finalised before the final bidding.
The development comes after PIA announced an annual profit for the first time in two decades.
Privatization Secretary Usman Akhtar Bajwa told the Senate committee that they hoped to attract more investors this time around, thanks to IMF consent to the sale. He also said that options for the sale of the PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel were also being explored, and the government had appointed Jones Lang LaSalle (JSL) to advise it on the different sales options.
Mr Bajwa informed the committee there were a total of 24 entities on the privatisation list, which will be sold off in three phases. In the first phase PIA, its Roosevelt Hotel and the Zarai Tarqiati Bank (ZTB) fall under the first phase, which will be privatized within one year.
Entities included in phases II and III are to be privatised over three and five years, respectively. However, it is expected that more entities could be added to the list after the Cabinet Committee on SOEs, headed by the finance minister, completes its proceedings.
During the meeting, Senator Umer Farooq raised concerns over the inclusion of the Pakistan Minerals Development Corporation in the privatisation list, saying that it could be turned into a profitable entity and should not be privatised given its importance.
But the secretary told the committee that although the petroleum division had recommended its privatisation, the Cabinet Committee on SOEs was analyzing the matter and will finalize the fate of the mineral development corporation.
The committee also discussed the public petition put forward by seven senators regarding Wapda’s plan to sell off eight operational plants as scrap. Officials stated that a total of nine power plants had been included in GENCO-holding companies, and GENCO I to IV plants had not been operational for many years.
However, the Nandipur and Guddu power plants, which fall under GENCO V, are currently operational. The government is now looking to sell off the non-operational plants as scrap, while also including the two operational plants in the privatisation list.
Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2025
