Among the bidding groups, one is a consortium of major industrial firms Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement and Metro Ventures. Another is led by investment firm Arif Habib Corp and includes fertilizer producer Fatima Fertilizer, private education operator The City School, and real estate firm Lake City Holdings. Additionally, Fauji Fertilizer Company, and Pakistani airline Airblue, have been approved to bid for PIA.
“The prequalified parties will now proceed to the buy-side due diligence phase — a critical next step in the transparent and competitive privatization process of PIACL,” the privatization commission’s statement said.
ROOSEVELT HOTEL
Separately, the CCOP approved the transaction structure for Roosevelt Hotel under a “Joint Venture model with multiple options.”
“This option is aimed at maximizing long-term value for the country, while ensuring flexibility, multiple exit opportunities, and minimizing future fiscal exposure,” the privatization commission said.
The Roosevelt, a 1,015-room historic hotel in Midtown Manhattan, has long been one of Pakistan’s most prominent but politically sensitive overseas assets. Acquired by Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited (PIAIL) in 1979, the hotel occupies a full city block on Madison Avenue and 45th Street. Over the past two decades, successive Pakistani governments have floated plans to sell, lease, or redevelop the property, but no proposal has advanced beyond early-stage planning.
Operations at the Roosevelt were suspended in 2020 following steep financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Pakistan entered a short-term lease with the City of New York to use the property as a temporary shelter for asylum seekers, generating more than $220 million in projected rental income. That agreement ended in 2024 and no new revenue stream has since been announced.
The Roosevelt Hotel is one of several state assets the government hopes will contribute to its target of raising Rs86 billion ($306 million) in privatization proceeds during the fiscal year starting July 1, alongside the sale of PIA and three electricity distribution companies.
