KP govt willing to bid for loss-making PIA

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government, in a letter to the federal government, has shown interest in participating in the bidding process for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

“On behalf of the chief minister/ chairman and the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we would like to express our earnest interest in participating in the bidding process for the sale of PIA,” Vice Chairman Hassan Masood Kunwar of KP Board of Investment and Trade (KP-BOIT) stated in a letter addressed to Federal Minister for Privatisation Aleem Khan.

KP government said that they were prepared to offer a bid that would surpass the current highest offer of PKR 10 Billion by Blue World City consortium, ensuring a strong and competitive position within the PIA bidding process.

It may be noted that PIA has a debt load of around Rs800 billion ($2.9 billion), and the government has tried to bail it out multiple times in recent years.

“We respectfully request that the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s proposal be considered as a viable option to retain the national flag carrier within a provincial government structure, preserving PIA’s legacy and aligning with the public’s interest in maintaining national assets,” the provincial government’s letter stated further.

The development comes a day after Blue World City’s PKR 10 billion ($36 million) bid for PIA’s 60 per cent shares, which was much lower than the federal government’s fixed PKR 85 billion ($305 million) demand. Other bidder’s withdrew at the last moment, making Blue World City the sole bidder.

After submitting the bid on Thursday, Seham Raza, the chief operating officer (COO) of Blue World City, said that the consortium placed the bids for the sake of the national carrier, and it did not care about its poor financial numbers or business model.

Among companies that withdrew at the last moment were Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Fly Jinnah, Younus Brothers, Holdings Private Limited, Pak Ethanol Private and Air Blue.

According to senior journalist Shahbaz Rana, the interested parties requested the federal government to exempt them from paying the 18 per cent General Sale Tax (GST), which was declined, leading the companies to withdraw from the bidding process.

The companies also disagreed to the government’s demand for the successful bidder to retain the airline’s 7,300 existing employees for two to three years.