Buyer of PIA to invest Rs70 billion under revised privatisation plan 

ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission has told a Senate panel that the new buyer of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be required to invest Rs70 billion over a five-year period as part of the national carrier’s revised privatisation plan.

The Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Senator Dr Afnanullah Khan. Officials from the Privatisation Ministry, Power Division, and ZTBL attended, along with senators including Zeeshan Khanzada, Bilal Ahmed Khan and Mohsin Aziz.

Secretary Privatisation Commission Usman Akhtar Bajwa briefed the committee that due diligence had begun for pre-qualified bidders. Site visits and technical sessions will start next week, covering aircraft condition and route performance.

Bajwa said the government had to inject Rs100 billion annually to keep PIA running, calling the airline’s current business model unsustainable. In a previous attempt, investors backed out due to unmet demands. This time, incentives such as sales tax exemptions on aircraft purchases have been included.

He added that PIA would resume flights to Manchester from August 14. However, security concerns remain for routes to North America, which are being reviewed.

The Commission shared that four parties have been pre-qualified for bidding:

• A consortium of Lucky Cement, Hub Power, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures 

• A consortium of Arif Habib Corporation, Fatima Fertilizer, City Schools, and Lake City Holdings 

• Fauji Fertilizer Company 

• Air Blue Limited 

A fifth consortium, which included Serene Air and Bahria Foundation, was not shortlisted.

The bidders have been given access to a Virtual Data Room for due diligence and will take part in pre-bid meetings.

The committee also reviewed pension issues at PIA. Pension liabilities for 6,625 retired employees now stand at Rs14.87 billion. The chairman expressed concern over low pension payouts and directed officials to submit grade-wise pension details in the next meeting.

On DISCOs, the committee was told that three companies will be privatised by June. Challenges include unresolved asset transfers, unpaid dues, and regulatory issues. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Minerals Development Corporation has not yet been added to the privatisation list.