Daily Times

The government has decided to delay the financial bidding for the privatisation of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) until October 31, sources said.

According to the sources, low bidder interest and unresolved issues have been cited as reasons behind the delay.

Previously, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation had disclosed that the privatisation process was extended to October 1. But the process has been delayed once again – this time, by a month. The sources added that the delay may have resulted from issues including unresolved court cases, fleet ageing and civil aviation issues.

This change in plans comes after Usman Bajwa, secretary of the Privatisation Commission, earlier this week, informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation that the final bid documents were shared with six pre-qualified bidders. Earlier, Turkish Airlines, in a statement to Bloomberg, dismissed a federal minister’s claims that the airline had expressed interest in taking over PIA.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s ongoing ban on PIA flights to Europe – one of the airline’s most profitable routes, historically – has proved to be another significant concern for potential bidders. However, during a recent panel meeting, PIA CEO Amir Hayat expressed optimism on this issue, stating that an audit was completed and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is expected to lift the ban by the end of the year.

Furthermore, Bajwa revealed that the final bid documents were uploaded to the Virtual Data Room on September 18, with bidding parties now in the final stages of due diligence.