DESPITE all its efforts to facilitate PIA’s privatisation, it seems the government only ended up being taken for a ride. The long-promised sale of the national flag carrier stalled in rather spectacular fashion on Thursday, when the only bidder participating in the auction offered just about 12pc of its floor price. Blue World City, a real-estate developer and the only party to make it to the final bidding process out of six groups pre-qualified by the government, said it was willing to shell out just Rs10bn for PIA against the minimum price of Rs85bn set by the Privatisation Commission. The consortium’s chairman, Saad Nazir, insisted on keeping the offer unchanged despite being given an opportunity to reconsider. “If the government does not privatise PIA, we wish them all the best; and if they want to run the airline themselves, we pray for them,” he is said to have quipped. It is now up to the federal cabinet to make what it may of the ludicrous offer. In case it is rejected, “we will start our own airline,” Mr Nazir was quoted as saying.

Why the government chose to make this a public spectacle is beyond understanding. Insiders with knowledge of the privatisation proceedings had previously shared that they did not consider Blue World City to be a serious contender. Its frivolous bid confirmed those suspicions. Did the real estate consortium stick around after the other bidders pulled out just for the free press? Meanwhile, all the government could do was pick at the egg on its face. It is hoped that, whatever the compulsions might be, the cabinet will not hand over the airline at such a throwaway price. It must find another way to get this albatross off its neck, preferably one that ends with the airline being transferred to a competent buyer on terms that do not entail the government conceding anything more than what is reasonable.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2024