ISLAMABAD – The Privatisation Commission Board of Pakistan has rejected the latest bid for privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and tabled fresh options for the sell-off of the national airline with a recommendation to send it to the cabinet committee for approval.
The government’s privatisation plan had faced blowback on October 31 this year as the PIA attracted only Rs10 billion from the sole bidder for a stake in the national carrier against the minimum expected price of Rs85 billion.
In a recent development, Federal Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan chaired a high-level meeting of the Privatization Commission Board in which various issues including the privatization of PIA were discussed and recommendations were approved.
In this meeting, it was decided to refer the PIA privatization to the Cabinet Committee, while the Privatization Commission Board meeting was briefed on various issues of privatization and satisfaction was expressed over the development so far.
In the Privatization Commission Board meeting, it was decided to form a 3-member committee to participate in the process of privatization by the Members of the Board. In this 227th meeting of Privatization Commission Board held under the chairmanship of Aleem Khan, the Board considered the bid of Pak Rs 10 billion submitted by Blue World City Consortium for the divestment of 60 percent shares of PIACL on the 31st October, 2024 and recommended to reject the bid. The board also deliberated on the way forward for the divestment of PIACL and considered various options for its early privatization. The Board further reviewed the status of other ongoing privatization transactions in the meeting.
Federal Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said that the privatization issues will be completed in accordance with the laws and regulations and keeping in views the national interest before us because the final decision on the issues of privatization of PIA and other institutions has to be taken by the Cabinet Committee. Federal Minister Abdul Aleem Khan directed that the Privatization of State Owned Entities including PIA should be carried forward without delay and in future bids offer for privatization of other institutions should be improved. He said that we are bound by our oath to do our best for the betterment of the country and nation.
He further said that the framework given by the Caretaker Government in the privatization of PIA were taken forward but now we have to keep in mind the concerns of the institutions involved in the privatization. Federal Minister emphasized that we have to learn from the Privatization process of PIA and have to be more active in future.
In the 227th meeting of the Privatization Commission Board, the Secretary Privatization Commission, while giving a briefing on various issues, had said that the Board did a good job, various airlines including Turkish and Singapore were interested in the privatization of PIA so the Privatization Commission Board can’t through away any party who pre-qualifies for privatization. In the meeting, various proposals were presented for PIA and the process of privatization and views were expressed on various issues and important decisions were made. Federal Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan extended opportunity to all the Members of the Privatization Commission Board and heard their suggestions in detail. Important issues related to Privatization of other projects were discussed in the meeting, as well.
