PIA bidding process to begin in August

KARACHI: The government is set to hold the bidding process for PIA privatization in August.This was said by PM Shehbaz Sharif during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, according to a handout by the PM Office. The PM expressed that the government was working to not only speed up the entire process but also make it transparent.

He also added that companies that have shown interest in the pre-bidding process are visiting various sites.During the meeting, the PM also said that “the government is hoping to make solar energy accessible for ordinary people, which is why no additional duties have been levied on solar panels.” The government plans to provide affordable solar energy to people.

The PM reiterated that the government is responsible for providing economic opportunities to people to uplift their living conditions. The PM also informed the cabinet about the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to export sugar. He said that the country “has sufficient reserves of sugar and that no one will be allowed to alter prices.”

He also ordered the formation of a cabinet committee to oversee sugar prices.Pakistan’s PIA privatization plan has been doing rounds for some time now with authorities seeing the privatization of this government asset as essential for raising funds for the cash-starved economy.

Successive governments have shared their plan to privatize the asset over the years but couldn’t finalize it. The present government wants to get done with the process as the IMF has suggested that the privatization of loss-making state entities is essential for fixing the country’s economy.