(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Pakistan's new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government has decided to initiate privatisation of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by putting up 26 per cent of the national flag carrier's shares for sale and extending operational authority to the buyer to run the airline.
Sharif gave the go ahead signal while presiding over a top level meeting here on Thursday. He directed the Ministry of Privatisation and the Civil Aviation Division to begin the process of privatising PIA 'with immediate effect'.
It was decided that 26 per cent of the airline's shares would be offered for sale in the initial stage of privatisation. Sharif directed concerned officials to ensure > FROM PAGE 21
the procedure was carried out in an 'open and transparent manner'. The premier also directed the PIA management to scale back the airline's losses in the short term in order to make it a viable entity for privatisation.
"The government is fully committed to the reform and restructure of all ailing state enterprises, including PIA," an official statement from the PM's office cited the prime minister as saying.
Earlier in the meeting, while reviewing the PIA's performance, Premier Sharif expressed deep concern over mismanagement in the airline's affairs.
Official sources said the planning and development minister had convinced prime minister to privatise the PIA.
According to PIA's own report, the airline has suffered losses worth Rs119.84 billion over the last ten years, which is not acceptable for a commercial entity and shows the extent of its bad performance. Flight delays and cancellation has become the norm in the PIA - as many as 35 per cent of the airline's flights end up delayed or cancelled, prompting passengers to board other airlines. In addition to that, only 24 of the PIA's 34 aircraft are currently serviceable, while the employee-to-aircraft ratio stands at 552 personnel per aircraft, compared to the global average of 120.
While former PIA bosses were quick to hail the government's decision to privatise PIA, the airline's union condemned the move and threatened to derail the process owing to fears that the move would inevitably lead to the sacking of thousands of employees.
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), main opposition party in the parliament, has announced that it would oppose any government move to privatise the PIA and Pakistan Steel. Leader of opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah told his party's workers on Wednesday that any attempt to put the jobs of thousands of people at the mercy of the private sector would be resisted.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf also said it would not support PIA's privatisation but it wanted revival of the airline through a comprehensive plan. It said the PML-N government had announced that it would appoint professionals in state enterprises, but surprisingly now it was planning to sell them off.
- See more at: http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/aviation/2013/September/aviation_September20.xml§ion=aviation#sthash.LBbjeyVH.dpuf
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.