PIA Privatisation Expected by November

A parliamentary committee was informed on Monday that PIA privatisation is expected to be completed by November this year, with four companies currently in the running to acquire the airline through consortiums with established international carriers.

During a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation, the secretary of the Privatisation Commission confirmed that four companies are participating in the PIA privatisation process. However, two applicants had already been disqualified for failing to meet eligibility requirements.

Senator Zeeshan Khanzada raised questions about Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited’s Rs650 billion debt burden. In response, committee chairman Senator Dr Afnan Ullah Khan proposed that the airline’s two hotels could be sold to help reduce liabilities.

The discussion also touched upon the government’s approach to selling profitable entities first. Senator Khanzada questioned the rationale, to which the Privatisation Commission secretary responded that investors naturally prefer profitable companies. He argued that even if such firms were handed over for free, it would still be beneficial since they may not remain profitable in the future.

The Senate committee session, chaired by Senator Afnan Ullah Khan and attended by Senators Zeeshan Khanzada, Umer Farooq and Asad Qasim, further reviewed progress on other privatisation efforts. These included power distribution companies (Discos), generation companies (Gencos), and the Pakistan Minerals Development Corporation (PMDC).