The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has expressed its desire to purchase the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) through a bid exceeding Rs10 billion, a day after the federal government failed to garner enough bids for the national flag carrier.

In a letter to the privatisation ministry on Friday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment stated their interest in participating in the privatization process of the PIA. The board expressed their intention to acquire the national airline by offering a bid that surpasses Rs10 billion.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is looking to offload a 51-100% stake in debt-ridden PIA to raise funds and reform bleeding state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme.

“The PIA is a national asset and an important part of the country’s identity. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandpur is keen on being part of its privatisation process,” it said.

The letter added that the provincial government would not allow the national asset to fall into the hands of any domestic or foreign private entity, reiterating their commitment to securing the PIA with a bid greater than Rs10 billion.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment has stated it wished for national institutions to remain under government control.

On Thursday, the Privatisation Commission decided to again conduct the bidding process for the PIA after attracting only Rs10 billion bid for the national flag carrier against the valuation of Rs85 billion.

Initially, the commission had deemed six bidders eligible, allowing them to participate in the bidding for the loss-making national carrier. But five of such bidders have opted out of the process.

The government had shortlisted the following companies for majority shares in the national airline: Air Blue Limited, Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Fly Jinnah, YB Holdings Private, Pak Ethanol Private, and the Real Estate Consortium Blue World City.

PIA’s assets are valued at Rs165 billion, leading privatisation officials to express concern and frustration upon reviewing the bid, which was far below the expected valuation.

Chaudhry Saad Nazir, the representative of the consortium and chairman of Blue World, stated that the PIA has liabilities amounting to Rs200 billion. He claimed that for Rs85 billion, a new airline could be established.

The PIA spokesperson described the unexpectedly low bid for the national flag carrier’s privatisation as “unfortunate.”

“There were high expectations surrounding the privatisation process as the PIA is one of the oldest airlines in the world, and such a low bid does not reflect its potential as a profitable entity,” Abdullah Hafeez Khan said while appearing on Aaj News show News Insight with Amir Zia on Thursday.

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Khan explained that since PIA was restructured into PIA Holding Company and PIA Sales, the debts that had burdened the airline’s balance sheet for the past two decades were “cleared.”

He added that such a financial relief allowed the airline to emerge as a “clean company” and PIA “is now a profitable organisation” at the operating level.

The spokesperson added that the value of the London Heathrow route alone is estimated at $100 million, equivalent to Rs30 billion, which includes properties, assets, and a fleet of 33 aircraft. The airline possesses 17 A320 aircraft, with each aircraft priced between $120 million to $150 million, he said and added that a new A320 would cost over Rs30 billion and even if the planes are older, their value should still be recognised.