CCOP decides against privatizing PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel

ISLAMABAD: Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) today (Thursday) has decided against the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York US.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the committee, chaired by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh to review the one-point agenda of the privatization of Roosevelt Hotel (Manhattan, New York).

According to a statement issued by the Finance Division, the Cabinet Committee has decided to run the Roosevelt Hotel through a joint venture. During the meeting, it was also agreed that the hotel would be started from scratch with a private entity.

The statement further said, “As requested by the Aviation Division, CCoP decided to de-notify the Roosevelt Task Force formed earlier under the chairmanship of Minister for Privatization for framing Terms of Reference for leasing Roosevelt’s site for setting up a joint venture project.”

The CCOP also directed the Privatisation Commission to hire a financial adviser to start the process for the transaction in light of a report by accounting firm Deloitte from July 2019 which recommended that “the highest and best use of the Roosevelt Hotel property is to redevelop the site into a mixed-use property (through joint venture) of primarily an office tower over retail and condominium.”

It was also directed that Deloitte would update its study on the Hotel transaction in the next 4 weeks and the same would be shared with the CCOP.

Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that the Cabinet Committee was taking up the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel which is owned by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).