**Parliamentary Committee Approves Key Amendments and Advances Privatization Process**
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatization has advanced Pakistan’s privatization agenda by approving important funding measures and progressing the bidding process for Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL). Meeting at Parliament House under the chairmanship of Muhammad Farooq Sattar, the committee also passed the Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, by a majority vote.
During the session, representatives of the Ministry of Finance informed committee members that PKR 3 billion has been approved for Postal Life Insurance Company Limited (PLICL), with an additional PKR 3 billion to be disbursed in the third and fourth quarters of the current fiscal year, as directed by the committee.
A pivotal development in the ongoing privatization of PIACL was highlighted, as the pre-qualification committee finalized four parties eligible to move forward in the process. The shortlisted bidders include two consortia: the first comprises Lucky Cement Limited, Hub Power Holdings Limited, Kohat Cement Company Limited, and Metro Ventures (Private) Limited. The second consortium consists of Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited, The City School (Private) Limited, and Lake City Holdings (Private) Limited. Apart from these, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited and Air Blue have also been selected. All four parties will receive access to the virtual data room for PIACL, enabling them to conduct due diligence as part of the privatization process.
In legislative matters, the committee passed the government’s Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, demonstrating continued efforts to reform and improve the privatization framework.
The meeting was attended by committee members Mr. Anwar Ul Haq Chaudhary, Mr. Chaudhry Mehmood Bashir Virk, Mr. Abdul Qadir Khan, Ms. Saba Sadiq, Mr. Nazir Ahmed Bhugio, Mr. Nauman Islam Shaikh, Ms. Sehar Kamran, Mr. Arshad Abdullah Vohra, Mr. Sanjay Pirwani, Mr. Muhamad Saad Ullah, Mr. Mehboob Shah, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali, Mr. Moulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, as well as officials from the Ministry.
