ISLAMABAD – A bidding event was held in Islamabad for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), where the administration was left in disbelief at the sole bid submitted.
A ceremony was held to open the bid from the Blue World City Consortium for PIA’s privatization, attended by Secretary of the Privatization Ministry Javed Pal, Secretary of the Privatization Commission Usman Bajwa, Chairman of Blue World City Saad Nazir, CEO of Blue World Aviation Maitham Raza, and CEO of Blue World City Chaudhry Nadeem Ijaz.
The Blue World City Consortium submitted the only bid for the airline’s acquisition in the afternoon, and the representative of the consortium, Wali Muhammad, was also present on stage.
The consortium accepted the privatisation terms, with the government setting a minimum price of Rs85.3 billion for PIA’s privatisation.
The sole bidder offered only Rs10 billion for 60% of PIA’s shares, prompting laughter from those present at the event. Attendees on stage also smiled at the bid, while the PIA administration held their heads in disbelief over the airline’s assets valued at Rs152 billion, causing concern among the Privatization Commission officials.
The Privatization Commission had set the minimum bid for PIA’s privatisation at over Rs85 billion, but the bidder was given 30 minutes to reconsider their offer.
After 30 minutes, the consortium refused to raise their bid from Rs10 billion, opting to stick with their initial offer.
Saad Nazir stated that if the government does not privatise PIA, they should run it themselves.
He added that PIA has liabilities of Rs200 billion, and a new airline could be established for Rs85 billion.
With this, the bidding process for PIA’s privatization concluded. According to regulations, the Privatization Commission will present the bid to the federal cabinet.
Earlier, a meeting of the Privatization Commission was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who presided over the CCoP meeting via video link from Doha.
The meeting included ministers from privatization, finance, and energy, along with various secretaries.
During the meeting, the Price Control Board approved the distribution of 60% shares regarding the bidding.
