The privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is moving forward with a scheduled bidding today (Thursday), though interest has narrowed to a single participant from six initially pre-qualified bidders.
The Privatisation Commission had approved contenders including Fly Jinnah, YB Holdings (Pvt) Ltd-led consortium, Airblue Ltd, Pak Ethanol (Pvt) Ltd-led consortium, Arif Habib Corporation Ltd, and Blue World City after evaluating their technical and financial capabilities.
These entities were invited to engage in the next phase, which involves comprehensive due diligence, positioning them to potentially acquire a majority stake in PIA—ranging from 51% to 100% along with managerial control.
On Wednesday, a Pakistani real estate developer announced that it had fulfilled the necessary conditions to participate in the upcoming bidding for a stake in the national airline, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
The chairman of Blue World City, Saad Nazir, confirmed to Reuters in a text message that his company is the only one to enter the final bidding process, declining to disclose the earnest money it had submitted.
Nazir also said the group is also looking into acquiring operations of the Islamabad International Airport which the government is looking to outsource.
Bloomberg reported that the government received just one bid for a stake in the national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), as five other consortiums stayed away from one of the country’s major privatization attempts.
Ahsan Ishaq, a spokesman for the Privatisation Ministry, was quoted as saying that the bidder deposited “earnest money” for the transaction with the Privatisation Commission by Tuesday’s deadline.
The initial target was to complete the PIA privatisation by August 14 and then by October 1, but delays occurred as bidders requested updated financial records, aircraft lease agreements, and information on the airline’s suspended European flights, which have been grounded for nearly four years.
PIA, predominantly owned by the government with approximately 96% of its issued capital, operates across multiple business areas, such as passenger services, ground handling, cargo, and more.
Pakistan’s national flag carrier has been grappling with a debt load of around Rs800 billion ($2.9 billion), and the government has extended several bailout packages to cover its operational costs.
