- Parliamentary Secretary for Communications briefs NA.
- The government delayed the process due to low interest from bidders and problems.
- The minister says the privatization of PIA was an elaborate process.
ISLAMABAD: The current government has decided to hold the final auction of loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on October 30.
This was revealed by Parliamentary Secretary for Communications Gul Asghar Khan on Wednesday during the 7th session of the National Assembly in response to Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Sharmila Faruqui.
Sources familiar with the developments said the government delayed the bidding process due to low interest from bidders and unresolved issues. The operation was previously scheduled to take place on October 1.
The sources added that the delay may be a result of issues including unresolved judicial cases, fleet obsolescence, and civil aviation issues.
During today’s assembly session, Khan said that the privatization of the state-owned entity was a detailed process that took place within the framework of an elaborate privatization structure.
He told lawmakers that the process began in February 2024 and will be completed on October 30.
The Parliamentary Secretary said that the process involved various institutions including the Privatization Commission Board headed by the Minister and Privatization Commission Secretary Usman Bajwa.
He said that the privatization decision taken by the General Investment Authority was approved by the ministerial committee concerned with privatization. “PIA’s assets have been separated separately as its operational assets have been separated while the final auction will be held under PIA’s supervision on October 30.”
Last month, Bajwa informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization that final bidding documents had been shared with six pre-qualified bidders.
The six consortia that were pre-qualified to bid for a 60% stake in PIA are included flywing ltd, airblue ltd, Arif Habib Company Limited, A A consortium led by YB Holdings (Private) Limited, A A consortium led by PAC Ethanol and Blue World City.