Roosevelt Hotel not put on sale, Senate panel told

ISLAMABAD: The government has no plans to sell the Roosevelt Hotel, a silver spoon of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), to the private sector but is rather seeking a joint venture for prospective mixed-use development.

This was stated by senior officials of the Privatisation Commission (PC) who briefed the Senate’s Standing Committee on Privatisation that met here on Thursday with Senator Shamim Afridi in the chair. Issues taken up included a briefing by the Ministry of Privatisation in the light of the meeting on Cabinet Commission on Privatisation (CCOP) on the Roosevelt Hotel, SME Bank and the Services International Hotel, Lahore. The panel also discussed the privatisation of Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO).

Reviewing the privatisation status of the Roosevelt Hotel, the committee was informed that the government does not plan to put up the hotel for sale but rather seeks a joint venture for prospective mixed-use development as delineated in the PC Ordinance, 2000. Term of References (ToRs) have been sent to the Aviation Division that is pending due to a delay in the appointment of the Financial Adviser to key stakeholders, re-initiated by the Privatisation Commission.

Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, one of the great old hotels in New York opened its doors in 1924; it is a lucrative Pakistani asset in the heart of one of the world’s economic capitals. This 22-storey hotel is in a prime location, on Madison Avenue and 45th Street in Midtown. It is owned by PIA Investment Limited (PIAIL), a subsidiary of the PIA. The PIAIL is an independent body that is running businesses other than aviation. Regarding the SME Bank Limited, the committee was informed that the CCOP considered the summary dates submitted by the Ministry of Privatisation. It approved recommendations of the PC Board in its meeting on delisting of the SME Bank from the privatisation programme. The Finance Division and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will take the matter further. A report will be presented to the committee in the next meeting. The standing committee recommended that the SME Bank may be attached to a reputed bank, preferably the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).

The parliamentary panel also discussed the privatisation of the Services International Hotel. The committee was informed that the report of the sub-committee that was formed by the prime minister, under the chairmanship of the minister for privatisation with representatives from the Finance, Law and Justice divisions and Secretary Privatisation Commission, was submitted to the CCOP. Directions were given to re-submit the report after inputs from the Law and Justice Division on the conformity of rules and regulations of the process. The matter is pending with the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Moreover, the matter of the privatisation of Sukkur Electric Power Company Limited (SEPCO) was discussed and the committee was informed that nine state-run power distribution companies (DISCOs) were part of the process, including SEPCO.

On June 24, 2022, the CCOP in its meeting directed the Power Division to write to all the provinces through the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) for negotiations in buying the concerned DISCOs by respective provinces. Sindh has already begun the process of talks with the Power Division for acquiring HESCO and SEPCO.

Senator Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah, Senator Rana Mahmood ul Hassan, Senator Anwar Lal Dean, Senator Maulvi Faiz Muhammad, Senator Umer Farooq, and senior officers of the Ministry of Privatisation along with its attached departments and agencies attended the meeting.