Caretaker Minister for Privatization Fawad Hassan Fawad on Thursday expressed the firm resolve of the government to privatize major loss-making state-owned enterprises to avoid a substantial financial drain of national resources as well as enhancing their working efficiencies.
The minister held a meeting with the Country Head of the World Bank Najy Benhassine and discussed the caretaker government’s strategic agenda for privatization, with specific attention to privatizing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and optimizing the performance of Distribution Companies (DISCOs).
This concerted effort aims to rectify substantial financial losses incurred by these entities and thereby alleviate the fiscal burden on the government, said a press release.
The Minister said that the federal government including the Apex committee of SIFC, comprising civil bureaucracy, military leadership, and political stakeholders, have unanimously agreed to undertake the privatization of major loss-making State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) which are already on the privatization list.
He said that the PIA has emerged as the foremost priority for privatization due to its persistent and staggering financial losses, amounting to billions of rupees annually, adding that privatizing PIA is considered imperative to remove these losses and improve its operational efficiency.
Fawad Hasan Fawad explained the outlines of the PIA privatization plan, expressing the government’s intention to engage the World Bank and other financial institutions at the initial phases of this effort. The overarching objective is to attract much-needed private investment through the privatization process, thereby unlocking government funds for deployment in vital infrastructure development and other strategic sectors.
The Minister highlighted the intention to develop a comprehensive model for PIA, with the World Bank remaining a key partner for potential future support.
He also discussed DISCOs given their substantial annual losses, which currently stand at $2.5 billion. Two productive sessions with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have already occurred, focusing on formulating a long-term concession model to mitigate these losses, he added.—APP
