ISLAMABAD, April 6: The second pre-bid meeting for the privatization of 51 per cent shares of Kohinoor Oil Mills will be held at the Privatization Commission on April 13. The first pre-bid conference was conducted on March 24.

According to a handout issued here on Tuesday, out of 19 parties who had submitted expressions of interest (EoIs), 16 parties participated in the first pre-bid meeting. It was decided in the first round that the date of bidding would be decided in the second round of pre-bid meeting in consultation with the bidders after the completion of the due diligence process.

The liabilities owed to the government up to the date of transfer of this transaction will not be passed on to the successful buyer. Kohinoor Oil Mills is situated on land measuring approximately 62.2 acres on the main GT Road, Kala Shah Kaku, tehsil Ferozewala, district Sheikhupura. It was converted into public limited company in 1997.

The mill's vegetable ghee plant has a capacity to produce 27,200 tons of ghee, while the solvent extraction plant (SEP) has annual rated capacity of 33,000 tons. Unlike other ghee mills, this unit also has seed handling/crushing equipment as well as the SEP. The SEP was closed down in 1995, while ghee manufacturing was stopped in 1997. All employees of this unit were laid off by paying GHS/VHS in 1997.

The 19 parties who have submitted EoIs include: Al-Hamza Ship Breaking Company, Karachi; Petrosin Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, Islamabad; Canal Associates, Lahore; Sardar Muhammad Ashraf D. Baluch (Pvt) Ltd, Karachi; Lilly International (Pvt) Ltd, Islamabad; Treet Corporation Ltd, Lahore; Hashoo Group, Islamabad; M/s Muhammad Humayun, Islamabad; A.A. Enterprises, Karachi; Bara Ghee Mills, Bara; Bismillah Textile Limited, Faisalabad; Kohinoor Sugar Group, Lahore; Afzal Motors, Peshawar; Husnain Cotex Ltd, Lahore; Tahir Omer Industries (Pvt) Ltd, Muridke; Ayub Brothers, Lahore; Arch Sons, Karachi; Kohisar Enterprises, Karachi; and Sartaj Roller Flour Mills, Lahore.