Islamabad : After going through many ups and downs, the Shahbaz government on Wednesday said the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) sell – off has been set for December 23,2025 and its bidding process to be shown live on electronic media.
Prime minister , Shahbaz Sharif , himself announced to show bidding process for PIA sell -off live on December 23, 2025 . Shahbaz Sharif announced the decision of showing PIA sell – off process live during a meeting held with the representatives of shortlisted potential buyers.
PIA is a key entity of Pakistan and its sell – off is being considered as a big step of the government as its successful bidding may endorse Shahbaz government ‘s commitment to sell – off loss – making entities.
PIA , being a national carrier of Pakistan, has been a great name in the international aviation industry and it was a profit- making entity from the day one. However , it turned into a loss – making entity with unwanted employments over the years in thousands in numbers. During the last one and half decades , all elected governments of Pakistan made employments in PIA on purely political basis and it subsequently turned this national asset into a heavy loss- making entity.
By end of 2025 , PIA had added up ,up to RS 450 billion loss to the national kitty.
In 2024 , the Shahbaz government decided to sell PIA ‘s majority shares. Its first attempt to give PIA to privatise sector failed in June last when the only party in the run gave nominal bid for acquisition of majority shares of the airline.
The government rejected the bid offer of the single party and again put it on sale list after couple of months. This time the government is expecting healthy competition for PIA sell – off. The
four companies/consortia are pre-qualified and running for the PIA bidding: the Lucky Cement Consortium, the Arif Habib Corporation Consortium, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited, and Air Blue Limited. These bidders have undergone the due diligence for the transaction.
Lucky Cement Consortium: Includes Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures.
Arif Habib Corporation Consortium: Includes Arif Habib Corporation, Fatima Fertilizer, City Schools, and Lake City Holdings.
Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited: Part of a military-backed conglomerate.
Air Blue Limited: A private Pakistani airline.