ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, the federal government told the Senate Standing Committee on Privatization that it was exploring a joint venture for the use of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York under the Privatization Commission Ordinance rather than selling the property.
The committee reviewed the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel while representatives of the SME Bank, the Services International Hotel Lahore, and the Sukkur Electric Power Company were also present during the meeting.
The Cabinet Committee on Privatization’s discussion about the Roosevelt Hotel and the current state of the Senate panel’s recommendations’ implementation were both covered in a briefing by the privatization ministry to the committee.
The committee was informed that the privatization commission was seeking a joint venture for potential mixed use of the property in accordance with the PC Ordinance, and that the government had no plans to put the Roosevelt Hotel up for sale.
Furthermore, the committee was informed that the TORs had been created in this respect and delivered to the Aviation Division.
The official said that although the PC had restarted the procedure, the appointment of the financial adviser had been postponed.
In the meeting, the SME Bank’s privatization process was also discussed while the National Bank of Pakistan is the preferred affiliate for the SME Bank, according to the committee’s recommendation.
Besides, the committee was informed that the Services International Hotel case was still being handled by the law ministry.
The committee was informed that Sepco was one of nine distribution businesses involved in the privatization process.
The Sindh government has already begun negotiations with Power Division for the purchase of Hesco and Sepco, it was also disclosed at the meeting.
Senators Sabir Shah, Rana Mehmood Al Hasan, Anwar Lal Deen, Maulvi Faiz Muhammad, Umar Farooq, and top officials from the privatization ministry were present at the meeting.
