NA panel approves PPP authority bill
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation on Wednesday approved the Public-Private Partnership Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026, while reviewing the progress of Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) privatisation and discussing tax incentives for the aviation sector.
The meeting, chaired by Dr Farooq Sattar, resumed after a gap caused by the government's austerity campaign. During the meeting, Privatisation Adviser Dr Muhammad Ali informed the committee that the government had granted a General Sales Tax (GST) exemption on aircraft and spare parts for PIA.
He said other airlines would also become eligible for the GST exemption from next year.
Dr Sattar said all airlines should be provided a level playing field and announced that the committee would write to the prime minister and the finance minister, urging them to extend the GST exemption.
The privatisation secretary told the committee that one of the successful bidder's key demands during the PIA privatisation process was the removal of GST. "We abolished GST for PIA for one year," he said.
Briefing the committee, the secretary also said meetings of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) were being held regarding the utilisation of the government's land bank.
Dr Sattar observed that several state-owned entities possessed valuable but underutilised assets. "There are many institutions that have assets which remain unused despite being valuable," he remarked.
Discussing Pakistan Reinsurance Company Limited (PRCL), Dr Muhammad Ali said the company had liabilities of Rs75 billion, while its assets stood at Rs25 billion. He said the company's capital was also Rs25 billion and that its privatisation would be carried out on the basis of that valuation.
The adviser also briefed the committee on the implementation of the PIA privatisation agreement. He said all commitments made under the sale agreement were being implemented. According to Dr Ali, the government will receive a total of Rs55 billion from the sale of 100 per cent of PIA's shares.
He said the government had already received Rs10 billion, while the remaining Rs45 billion would be paid after the transfer of a 25 per cent shareholding. The adviser said PIA's management had invested Rs80 billion in the company and planned to inject another Rs45 billion.
Responding to concerns raised by PPP MNA Sehar Kamran regarding the airline's fleet, Dr Muhammad Ali said it was not possible to acquire new aircraft within a few weeks.
He informed the panel that as of June 30, 2025, PIA's total assets were valued at Rs191.534 billion, while its total liabilities stood at Rs182.430 billion, including Rs30.342 billion in employees' pension liabilities.