Pakistan has received three formal bids for the privatisation of its troubled national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), in a development widely viewed as a critical test of Islamabad’s commitment to reform and sell off loss-making state-owned enterprises.
PIA, long criticised for inefficiency, overstaffing, and poor management, has been grappling with severe financial strain as government support wanes amid a prolonged balance-of-payments crisis.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking after the bidding process was broadcast live, stressed the importance of transparency in what he described as a landmark transaction.
“It was essential to make this process transparent because one of the biggest transactions in Pakistan’s history is about to take place,” Sharif told his cabinet in a televised address. “If the bidding is successful, the privatisation process will truly take off.”
During the process, representatives of the three bidding consortia each submitted offers for the 75 per cent stake in PIA by placing their bids into a sealed, transparent box. One consortium is led by private airline Air Blue, another by Lucky Cement, while the third is spearheaded by investment firm Arif Habib.
The government is expected to announce a reference price later on Wednesday and will name a preferred bidder if the minimum valuation is met.
The latest sale attempt follows a failed privatisation effort last year, which attracted only a single bid of $36 million—far below the government’s valuation of between $300 million and $305 million.
Before being delisted from the Pakistan Stock Exchange, PIA reported a net loss of $437,000 in the 2022 financial year on revenues of $854,000, underscoring its persistent financial woes.
Under a $7 billion loan programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2024, Islamabad has committed to divesting dozens of loss-making state enterprises across the finance, energy, industrial, and retail sectors by 2029.
Many of these firms have accumulated billions of dollars in losses due to years of mismanagement and corruption, forcing repeated government bailouts.
Founded in 1955, PIA was once a symbol of national pride and rapid economic growth. However, its reputation has been severely damaged by mounting financial losses and a series of safety lapses.
In June 2020, the airline was banned from operating flights to the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States following a tragic crash involving an Airbus A320 in Karachi that claimed nearly 100 lives. While authorities in Europe and Britain lifted the ban earlier this year, flights to the United States have yet to resume.
Officials say only 18 of PIA’s 34 aircraft are currently operational, highlighting the scale of the challenges facing the airline as privatisation efforts move forward.
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