ISLAMABAD: The government has made privatisation its key priority, and, in this regard, the Islamabad International Airport will be outsourced first.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb said the government should not be in business. “The prime minister strongly believes in reducing government interference in the commercial space and promoting the private sector; that is why we have made privatisation a key priority.”

The government will not only accelerate the ongoing privatisation of institutions like the Pakistan International Airport (PIA), the Roosevelt Hotel, the House Building Finance Corporation, and First Women’s Bank, but will also launch a concrete programme offering other state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for private sector investment.

In the coming years, special attention will be given to the transfer of ownership and management of energy, financial, and industrial SOEs to the private sector.

In this context, he also shared details regarding the privatisation of PIA, which started in November 2023 with the appointment of financial advisor Ernst & Young. The current government sped up the process, and in March 2024, the PIA Holding Company was formed.

Afterwards, a liability of Rs622 billion was transferred from the privatisation commission. The commission has invited expressions of interest through advertisements in national and foreign newspapers for the privatisation of PIA in April 2024.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2024