ISLAMABAD – The privatization of Pakistan International Airlines continues as the government has announced to pre-qualify the companies for the sell-off of the national carrier.
A major development in this regard was reported on Monday when the Ministry of Privatisation officially stated that six companies/consortiums have been pre-qualified for the privatization of the national carrier.
The statement comes after a meeting of the Privatisation Commission Board, which was chaired by Federal Minister for Privatisation, Investment, and Communications Abdul Aleem Khan.
As far as the names of the companies are concerned, Air Blue, Arif Habib Corporation, Blue World City, Fly Jinnah, Pak Ethanol Consortium, and YB Holdings Consortium are included in the list.
The participants of the board meeting decided that pre-qualified companies/consortiums would be able to participate in PIA’s bidding.
“We will ensure the transparent and swift privatization of all loss-making institutions,” Aleem Khan was quoted as saying in the statement.
“The technical and financial stability of the institutions participating in the privatization process will be taken into account,” the minister highlighted and added that the government was privatizing loss-making institutions to stabilize the national economy.
It is to be highlighted that the decision to privatize the carrier was made during the caretaker regime led by Prime Minister Anwar Ul Haq Kakar for which the government had hired a consultant who had submitted a comprehensive report in this regard.
As far as the timeline is concerned, the incumbent government has reiterated to complete the process by June this year; however, there could be some delay in the completion of the process.
Meanwhile, the government has also decided to outsource three airports in the country i.e. Allama Iqbal International Airport, Jinnah International Airport Karachi, and Islamabad International Airport; the process to outsource the airport in Islamabad is already underway with plans to outsource the facility for 15 years.
