The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has expressed interest in acquiring Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) after the Blue World Consortium’s bid of Rs10 billion fell short of the government’s minimum price of Rs85 billion.
The provincial government’s Board of Investment and Trade wrote to Privatisation Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, stating their intention to participate in the bidding process and offer a higher bid than Blue World Consortium’s.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government considers PIA a vital national asset and a symbol of Pakistan’s pride and national identity . They emphasized the importance of keeping PIA under government control, rather than allowing it to be sold to a private or foreign investor.
The KP government’s interest in acquiring PIA comes despite their own financial constraints, which have led to the cancellation of thousands of development projects.
However, officials from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade have assured that the provincial government has the necessary funds to proceed with the purchase.
The development is a significant turn in the PIA privatization process, which has faced setbacks due to a lack of interest from qualified bidders. The Privatisation Ministry of Pakistan had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only Blue World City participated in the bidding process.
