ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to sell assets of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) worth trillions of rupees under its privatisation plan.

The government recently transferred the PDTC to the cabinet division from the ministry of inter-provincial cooperation (IPC), apparently to further its privatisation plan.

A source in the PTDC told Dawn the other day that during a recent meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif PTDC Managing Director Chaudhry Kabir Ahmed Khan had been given the go-ahead for the privatisation of the PTDC’s assets.

But Mr Khan chief did not take IPC Minister Riaz Pirzada into confidence on the matter.

PTDC put under control of cabinet division

According to the devolution plan, all PTDC hotels and motels in the country had to be handed over to the provinces, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could benefit the most because a majority of the assets are located in that province.

Earlier, employees of the corporation had challenged the decision of the previous PPP government about liquidation of the PTDC’s assets without addressing their problems. They have not received their salary for 19 months.

According to an advertisement appeared in national dailies recently, the government for the first time offered private parties to buy 39 motels and hotels of the PTDC.

According to a PTDC official, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had barred the handing over of the PTDC’s motels and resorts to the provinces without carrying out a fair liquidation and evaluation of assets.

The Punjab government had tried to take over Flashman Hotel in Rawalpindi a few months ago, but its management refused to hand it over because of some legal and technical constraints. It then moved the IHC.

An official of Flashman Hotel told Dawn that a major constraint in handing over the hotel was that it was not solely a government property, but its employees and private parties also owned its shares.

“Over 13 per cent shares are owned by private members and 22pc belong to employees which were given to them by the PPP government,” he said.

It was decided earlier that PTDC’s resorts and motels would be handed over to the provinces on geographical basis but after paying their cost to the federal government.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2014