The Ministry of Privatization auctioned the Services International Hotel (SIH) in Lahore on Thursday, with the highest bid of Rs1,951,718,500 beating the reserve price of Rs1,949,718,500.
Muhammad Mian Soomro, the Federal Minister for Privatization, presided over the auction at a local hotel. Soomro stated that the auction process of state-owned properties was being carried out in a transparent manner in the country on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to him, the government has a plan to privatize all public sector departments that are losing money, including Pakistan Steel Mill, Mari Petroleum, Jinnah Convention Centre Islamabad, SME Bank, First Women Bank, PPL, Guddu Power Plant, Heavy Electrical Complex, and other power companies.
The federal minister stated that the privatization was carried out in accordance with the plan and the Privatization Ordinance, and that the auction’s principal goal was to lower the country’s debt repayment burden.
In response to a query, he said that the ministry’s accomplishment today was that it spent more than the base price of the Services International Hotel, and that the government valued merit and transparency in the auction process of state-owned properties.
The successful bidder is renowned real estate developers Faisal Town (Pvt) Ltd, which has promised to deposit the balance of the money within the time frame.
