ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: The government on Monday accepted biddings for the issuance of 27 licences to the private sector for setting up FM radio stations in 17 cities.

Twenty-two of the 650 companies, which had applied for the licenses, were invited for taking part in the bidding, said the chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Mian Muhammad Javed, at the opening of the bidding.

The chairman said a new era of liberalization and de-regulation had begun in the country to give equal opportunity to the private sector in making the public opinion in the right direction.

In all, 39 licenses will be issued to the private sector for setting up FM radio stations in 21 cities.

However, no bidding was received for establishing a single radio station in Hyderabad, Bahawalpur and Gujranwala and for two radio stations in the Quetta city.

The 17 cities for which biddings were received were Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Karachi, Peshawar, Daska, Sialkot, Sukkur, Changla Gali, Vehari, Muridke, Faisalabad, Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Gwadar, Sarai Naurang, Abbottabad and Hub Chowki.

For setting up seven FM radio stations in Karachi, 13 parties participated in the bidding in which the highest bid of Rs3,500,000 was offered by Kohinoor Airwaves Pvt Ltd. Three other bidders —Digital Effects Pvt. Ltd, Karachi; Shamal Media Services, Karachi, and Traders International, Islamabad, raised their offers to match the amount of Rs3,500,000 and qualified.

The Pemra chairman, however, said other participants, whose offer had not matched the highest bid, had been given three days to reconsider their bids and match the amount of Rs3,500,000 to qualify for the remaining licenses.

Six parties bid for four radio stations in Lahore. Those who qualified were Kohinoor Airwaves Pvt. Ltd., Lahore, Digital Effects Pvt. Ltd., Karachi, Shamal Magic Pvt. Ltd., Islamabad, and Tradeserve International, Mezzanine, Islamabad.

Three out of six bidders qualified for setting up three radio stations in Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The highest bid of Rs2,500,000 was made by Kohinoor Airways. Pvt. Ltd., Lahore, while Digital Effects Pvt. Ltd., Karachi, and Communicators, Islamabad, matched the highest bid and qualified for the license.

For setting up three FM radio stations in Faisalabad, the highest bid of Rs1,000,000 was offered by Digital Effects Pvt. Ltd., Karachi, which was followed by Tradeserve International, Islamabad, and Kohinoor Airwaves Pvt. Ltd.

Interactive Communication Pvt. Ltd, Islamabad, bid Rs200,000 for setting up an FM radio station in Peshawar out of total two radio stations in the city; Communicators, Islamabad, offered the bid of Rs101,101 for a radio station in Vehari; a bid of Rs1,067,333 was offered by Tradeserve International, Islamabad, for a radio station in Multan; and SAIF International Combined Pvt. Ltd, Islamabad, bid Rs100,000 for a radio station in Sarai Naurang.

And Future Tech Engineering, Islamabad, bid Rs111,000 for a radio station in Gujrat; Interactive Communications Pvt. Ltd., Islamabad, offered the bid of Rs200,000 for a radio station in Sialkot; SALAAR Engineering Pvt. Ltd., Islamabad, bid Rs104,000 for a radio station in Gwadar; Syndicate Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., Karachi, made a bid for a radio station in Daska; the Communicators, Islamabad, offered the bid of Rs101,101 for a radio station in Abbottabad; SALAAR Engineering Pvt. Islamabad, bid Rs110,000 for Hub Chowki, Rs106,000 for Muridke and Rs108,000 for Changla Gali; and Shamal Media Services, Karachi, offered the bid of Rs150,000 for setting up a radio station in Sukkur.

The sealed bids were opened in the presence of the bidders, media representatives and common people here at National Library Auditorium.

The bidding, organized by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, was presided over by the chairman with other officials of the authority.