The government on Monday informed the Senate Standing Committee on Privatization that it aims to privatize the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited by November.
In a briefing, the Privatization Commission secretary said four companies were participating in the bidding process and would need to form consortiums with established airlines to operate PIA. Two applicants had been disqualified for not meeting standards, he added.
On the PIA’s Rs. 650 billion debt, the senators suggested selling the airline’s hotels to offset liabilities.
The committee, chaired by PMLN Senator Afnanullah Khan and attended by Senators Zeeshan Khanzada, Umer Farooq and Asad Qasim, also reviewed progress on other key privatization initiatives, including power distribution companies, generation companies, and the Pakistan Minerals Development Corporation (PMDC).
The parliamentarians emphasized the need to ensure clarity on energy supply agreements, debt restructuring and protection of profitable state assets before proceeding with privatization.
During the briefing, officials of the Power Division said the Nandipur and Guddu power plants are on the privatization list. “Eight important issues of Nandipur have been resolved, with only one pending related to the gas purchase and sale agreement,” they said, adding the government was still deciding whether to provide a dedicated gas supply or continue with the current arrangement of supply on availability.
On the Guddu plant, the officials said four of nine outstanding issues had been resolved, but some disputes over land transfer remained and were in process of resolution. Chairman Afnanullah noted that the energy supply issue must be resolved to ensure successful privatization.