PIA auction to take place today

Privatisation plans for PIA are set to proceed with Blue World City consortium as the only contender.

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The Privatisation Commission has completed preparations for the bidding of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which is set to take place today.

Notably, only the Blue World City consortium has submitted documents to participate in the bidding process, Express News reported.

The bidding will commence at 1:30 PM, with the opening of bids scheduled for 6:30 PM.

The commission had extended the privatisation deadline to 31 October, following a request from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had previously set a deadline for the end of September for the airline's privatisation.

PIA possesses assets worth Rs152 billion, including aircraft, slots, routes, and more. The airline’s total royalty stands at Rs202 billion, which includes amounts owed to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO). PIA is expected to collect between Rs16 to 17 billion from its operations.

The airline employs around 7,100 staff, with over 2,400 working on a daily wage basis. Out of 45 General Managers, 37 are currently performing their duties in various roles.

According to sources, the final approval for PIA's privatisation will be sought from the Privatisation Commission board meeting, along with clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation. The federal cabinet will also approve the reserve price for PIA through circulation.

It is worth noting that, apart from the Blue World City consortium, no other groups have submitted documents for the airline’s privatisation.

Earlier this week, PIA saw just one bid submitted out of six potential contenders.

Six groups had originally been shortlisted as prospective buyers of PIA shares, including local and regional players such as Airblue Ltd, Arif Habib Corporation Ltd, Fly Jinnah by Air Arabia, YB Holdings Pvt, Pak Ethanol Pvt, and real estate conglomerate Blue World City. Despite these shortlisted names, only one moved forward with a formal bid.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb recently confirmed plans to privatise PIA in November as part of the government’s commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a 37-month, $7-billion bailout program.