The incumbent government will initiate the bidding process for the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Thursday, with just one bidder in the mix. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration aims to offload a 51-100% stake in the struggling airline as part of efforts to raise funds and reform state-owned enterprises, in line with a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The Privatisation Ministry announced that the bidding process will commence at 1:30 PM, with bids scheduled to be opened at 6:30 PM in Islamabad. This process had previously been deferred by one month, rescheduled from October 1 to October 31.
While six groups were pre-qualified in June, only one—real estate development company Blue World City—submitted the necessary final documents by the Tuesday deadline to participate. Executives from three other groups that opted not to bid expressed concerns about the government’s ability to uphold agreements regarding the airline in the long term. One executive highlighted worries about policy continuity, especially with the potential for a new government to take office, given the current coalition of diverse political parties.
Privatizing PIA has been a contentious issue for previous governments due to its unpopularity, largely stemming from the potential layoffs that would result from such a move.
