The federal government has announced significant progress in the privatization of the national airlines, PIA. In a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday, the participants were informed about the progress on the privatization of state-owned institutions, especially PIA.
The officials concerned told the federal cabinet that companies interested in PIA pre-bidding are visiting various sites of the airlines, while the bidding for PIA will take place in the first week of August. The prime minister directed to speed up the process of privatization of PIA and ensure complete transparency in the process. The federal government has set a budget target of collecting Rs30 billion from privatization in the financial year 2024-25. The government plans to privatize 25 state-owned enterprises, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Roosevelt Hotel, First Women’s Bank, Utility Stores Corporation and various electricity distribution companies.
The federal government, in its second and final review under the Standby Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF on May 10 had forecast for the next year that it had set a target for bidding for PIA’s core business by June 2024, of which the government will likely try to sell 51% stake.
