After Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab throws in the hat to buy PIA

LONDON: Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif has hinted interest in purchasing the national carrier on behalf of Punjab province.

This comes days after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur sent a formal statement of interest to buy Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Amid privatisation setbacks, KP govt steps in to buy PIA

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KP-BOIT) had written a letter to Federal Minister for Privatisation Aleem Khan in this regard. The letter said that the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wants to participate in the auction process of PIA.

Interest by both the provincial governments comes after the scheduled privatisation of PIA on October 31 failed to attract an ‘acceptable’ bid.

Out of the five potential bidders, only one real estate consortium Blue World City remained interest by the deadline, and even they bid Rs 10 billion in response to the government’s valuation of minimum Rs 85 billion.

PIA’s privatisation: sole bidder falls short of reserve price in aution

The government does not want the PIA to be auctioned to foreign investors, sources said.

Talking to the media, Nawaz Sharif said that the Punjab government is considering buying PIA. He said that he has advised the provincial government to either purchase PIA or start a new airline.