ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) on Thursday gave the Privatisation Commission (PC) the go-ahead to proceed with the sale of Services International Hotel (SIH) property in Lahore.

Sources told Dawn that the meeting approved SIH’s ‘reserve price’ at Rs2.25 billion.

However, a senior official of the Privatisation Commission told Dawn when contacted that the ‘reserve price’ agreed by CCoP is not final — it can be reviewed or approved by the federal cabinet.

The PC had presented a summary regarding the approval of the reserve price for the privatisation of SIH which is centrally located in Upper Mall Lahore and spread over an area of more than 15 kanals. SIH is among the 19 public sector entities on the list of the active privatisation programme of the government.

The official press release issued by the ministry of finance on the CCoP meeting made no mention of the reserve price. However, information gathered by Dawn showed the price fixed at Rs2.25bn. When contacted, PC spokesperson Samreen Zehra declined to comment.

The CCoP decision will now be presented to the federal cabinet for final approval. It is expected that the commission will begin proceedings for the privatisation of SIH in the first week of April.

The present government’s agenda of privatisation is moving at a snail’s pace. SIH will be the first transaction for the PTI government which has completed more than half of its tenure.

The present government has introduced a special incentives package for the promotion and support of the construction sector. Prime Minister Imran Khan had also announced grant of industry status to the construction sector along with formation of Cons­­truction Industry Development Board.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired the CCoP meeting which was attended by Privatisation Minister Muhammadmian Soomro, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Finance Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, Policy Reforms Adviser Dr Ishrat Hussain and special assistants to the PM Waqar Masood and Tabish Gauhar.

The PC also presented various proposals regarding the ‘Award of Management Contracts’ for smooth running of distribution companies (Discos) in compliance with the earlier directive of the CCoP meeting held in January this year. The ‘Management Contracts’ would improve the service delivery and serve the larger interest of electricity consumers in Pakistan. The PC also sought CCoP’s permission to hire a transaction adviser for completing the tasks on Discos.

After detailed discussion, the committee directed to speed up the process of completion of prior actions pertaining to award of ‘Management Contracts’ for Discos and present a roadmap with firmed-up proposals within a week, after seeking requisite approval from the Privatisation Commission Board. The committee also allowed hiring of a transaction adviser as permissible under the rules.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Shaikh stressed the need to carry forward the process of privatisation on a fast-track basis. Time is of the essence in undertaking a well-structured privatisation activity to bring in competitive efficiency, improve service delivery and enhance customer satisfaction, the finance minister said. Privatisation will diversify sources of income for the government, generate employment opportunities and contribute towards overall economic growth and development, he added.

On the occasion, the PC also submitted a compliance report on the implementation status of public sector enterprises in real estate, industries, banking and finance, energy and other sectors which are on the active privatisation list.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2021