By Ijaz Kakakhel

Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL) owns an extensive portfolio of domestic and overseas properties, according to an inventory compiled as part of the privatization process, show documents available with Wealth Pakistan.

The inventory indicates that the selected high-value properties will be part of the privatization deal, with others excluded and reassigned to different entities.

According to the documents, a number of prime PIA-owned properties located in major cities of Pakistan and abroad have been included in the transaction package. Among the most valuable assets is the PIA Sales Office in Peshawar, carrying an estimated market value of over Rs5.06 billion, followed by the PIA Sales Office in Islamabad’s Blue Area valued at approximately Rs2.35 billion. The PIA Booking Office on The Mall Road, Rawalpindi has been assessed at Rs2.32 billion, while the sales office building in Quetta is valued at Rs837 million.

The asset list also includes several overseas properties. These comprise a flat in Mumbai worth Indian Rs112.5 million, office floors in New Delhi valued at Indian Rs121.9 million, multiple properties in Amsterdam collectively valued at over 3.4 million euros, a property in Tashkent valued at over 4 billion Uzbekistani Som, and a residential property in Scarsdale, New York, estimated at $1.68 million.

The documents further reveal that a large number of domestic properties will remain under PIA Holding Company Limited (PIAHCL) and are not currently part of the privatization transaction. These include sales offices, warehouses, staff housing colonies, land parcels, and other strategic assets spread across Islamabad, Gwadar, Multan, Muzaffarabad, Swat, Skardu, Turbat, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Chitral, Gilgit, Sukkur, Dera Ismail Khan, Hyderabad, and other locations.

Among the notable retained assets are PIA bungalows in Karachi’s KDA Scheme-1, a farmhouse in Abbottabad, land near Gilgit’s NLI Shopping Centre, hospital land in Karachi, and a 200-acre landholding in Karachi East opposite DHA. International hospitality assets held through PIA Investment Limited (PIA-IL) also remain outside the transaction, including the historic Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, New York, the Scribe Hotel in Paris and Karachi’s Avant Hotel.

Papers show that several prominent properties are currently undergoing a carve-out process and will not form part of the privatization package. These include the PIA Planetariums in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar, the football ground at KDA Scheme-1 Karachi, Dayal Singh Mansion office space in Lahore, Jahangir Sports Complex in Karachi and the open plot in Islamabad’s Blue Area. The Blue Area Islamabad plot is valued at around Rs12 billion, making it one of the most valuable real estate assets associated with the national carrier.

The disclosure highlights the significant real estate footprint accumulated by PIA over decades and underscores the importance of asset segregation in the government's efforts to privatize the airline.

Credit: INP-WealthPk