Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shows Interest in Bidding for PIA Privatisation

Peshawar – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has formally expressed interest in joining the privatisation bid for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

The KP Investment Board sent a letter to Federal Minister for Privatisation Abdul Aleem Khan, indicating its intention to submit a competitive bid, as directed by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

The letter emphasized PIA’s significance as a “national asset of immense importance” and stated that KP is prepared to offer a more attractive deal than the Rs 10 billion bid from real estate company Blue World City.

On Thursday, the Privatisation Ministry revealed that Blue World City was the only company to submit a bid, proposing Rs 10 billion for a 60% stake in PIA.

This offer fell short of the government’s minimum price of Rs 85 billion, despite six companies being pre-qualified for the bidding process in June.

In line with its $7 billion program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan aims to sell a 51–100% stake in the debt-laden national airline to raise funds and revitalize state-owned enterprises.