Islamabad: The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) on Thursday decided to redevelop and run the Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) Roosevelt Hotel in New York through a joint venture (JV) instead of pursuing a sale or leasing arrangement, a news source reported. The CCoP also directed the Privatisation Commission to hire a financial advisor to start the process.
The steps have been planned in light of a report by the accounting firm ‘Deloitte’ from July 2019 that recommended redeveloping the site into a mixed-use property, with primary offers being offices above retail and condominiums.
As per the latest decisions, Deloitte is to update its study within the next four weeks and it will then be shared again with the CCoP.
At the same time, the CCoP also de-notified the task force, chaired by Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Mian Soomro, established to develop the plans for leasing Roosevelt Hotel. Its members also included Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari among other high-ranking officials.
