Pakistan weighs opportunities for the future of its iconic Roosevelt hotel in New York, including demolition of the century-old structure to build a skyscraper, as part of the government’s wider privatization and reform obligations to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), US Outlet Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
Muhammad Ali, the Prime Minister’s adviser to privatization, confirmed to Bloomberg that more opportunities were under consideration. “The government is eager for a joint venture where Pakistan will contribute the ground and the partner will bring in equity,” he said in Islamabad. “The other option is to keep the hotel if it makes financial sense.”
Ali added that the situation would become clearer within the next few months when a joint venture partner is completed and “marketing” is complete.
According to the $ 7 billion IMF loan agreement, Pakistan is under pressure to restructure or privatize loss-making state-owned companies.
According to Bloomberg, the first major disposal could be Pakistan International Airlines (Pia), which has long been dependent on government returns that are no longer sustainable.
“The consultant hopes the national carrier will be sold in November,” the report said.
Ali told the publication that several of the country’s largest business groups were interested in acquiring Pia and had the capacity to turn it over. He estimated that about half a billion dollars in investment would be required to revive the airline’s operations.
The government is also in the process of hiring advisers to Roosevelt Hotel’s transaction, a property that some have described as “the new Ellis Island” for its historic role in housing migrants.
Bloomberg noted that bids had been received from seven companies, including Citigroup Inc., CBRE Group Inc. and Savill’s PLC and that a new adviser would be completed later this month.
