Karachi traders also jump on PIA bandwagon

KARACHI: Karachi traders have also shown interest in acquiring Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and PML-N expressed their interest in buying the airline.

Speaking to a private news channel, Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori said that the Karachi traders have discussed the development of the PIA privatization process with him.

“The traders in Karachi want the PIA to be handed to them for a year. They are serious about launching a new airline,” the Sindh Governor added.

According to Kamran Tessori, the proposed name for the new airline would be ‘PK,’ representing Pakistan and Karachi, respectively.

Further, he welcomed the Punjab government’s potential project to launch an airline namely, “Air Punjab.”

According to Governor Tessori, the launching of new airlines will create job opportunities in the country.

Punjab govt denies buying PIA, to launch its own new airline

His statement came days after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government expressed interest in participating in the PIA privatization bidding.

According to details, the KP Investment Board wrote to Federal Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan, expressing its intention to submit a bid.

A day earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif said that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz advised him to buy Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and rebrand it ‘Air Punjab.’

In a statement, Nawaz Sharif said, “Maryam sought advice from me, asking if we should take over the PIA and make it a brand new airline.”

Meanwhile, the final bidding process for the PIA privatization saw just one bid of Rs10 billion ($36 million) for a 60 per cent stake in the national flag carrier.

The government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only real-estate development company Blue World City participated in the bidding process, placing a bid that was below the government-set minimum price of Rs85 billion.