Govt decides to hold PIA auction on October 30

ISLAMABAD: After numerous delays in the auction of the loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Corporation, the government finally decided to hold the bidding on October 30. 

Parliamentary Secretary for Communication Gul Asghar Khan revealed the date on Wednesday during the seventh session of the National Assembly in response to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Sharmila Faruqui.

Sources privy to the development had said that the bidding process was delayed owing to the low bidder interest and unresolved issues. The process was earlier scheduled for October 1.

The sources added that the delay may have resulted from issues including unresolved court cases, fleet ageing and civil aviation issues.

During the assembly session today, Khan said the privatisation of the state-owned entity was a detailed process conducted under the elaborate structure of privatisation.

The process was initiated in February 2024 and would be finalised on October 30, he apprised the lawmakers.

The parliamentary secretary said the process involved different institutions including the Privatisation Commission Board chaired by the minister and the secretary Privatisation Commission Usman Bajwa.

The PIA’s privatisation decision, he said, was approved by the Cabinet Committee on privatisation. “PIA assets have been parked separately as its operational assets have been separated whereas final auction will be held under PIA Corporation on October 30.”

Last month, Bajwa informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation that the final bid documents were shared with six pre-qualified bidders.

The six consortia that were pre-qualified to bid for a 60% stake in PIA, included Fly Jinnah Limited, Air Blue Limited, Arif Habib Corporation Limited, a consortium led by YB Holdings (Private) Limited, a consortium led by Pak Ethanol and Blue World City.