Roosevelt Hotel no longer for sale

Govt removes PIA-owned hotel from privatisation list.

ISLAMABAD:

The government of Pakistan has decided not to sell the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, four years after placing it on the list of assets for privatisation, because of declining real estate prices.

Official documents pertaining to the de-listing of Roosevelt Hotel, which is owned by Pakistan International Airlines, were presented before the federal cabinet here on Monday. The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, approved the decision.

The documents, available with The Express Tribune, reveal that the government paid an American consultant Rs42.78 million ($500,000) to arrange a quick sale of the hotel. The cabinet was informed that the government of Pakistan would now put more money into the hotel for renovations.

According to the documents, the decision to de-list the hotel was taken by President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani after a recent briefing advising them that now was not a good time to sell because of the declining value of real estate in New York. The Privatisation Commission and the Cabinet Committee on Restructuring have also approved the decision.

The Roosevelt Hotel was put on the list of entities to be privatised on November 30, 2006, following which the Privatisation Commission hired an American consultant to arrange its sale. According to the commission, the hotel could not be sold because of a downturn in the global real estate market.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2011.