PC gets go-ahead for Services Hotel, HBFC divestment

The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) on Monday allowed the Privatization Commission to proceed to complete privatisation of Services International Hotel and House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC). A meeting of the CCoP, chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, deferred a summary presented by the Privatisation Commission on the privatisation of PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York and asked the commission to submit an update on the status after consultation with the aviation ministry. Aviation Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique had disclosed a few weeks ago that a contract has been signed with the New York city government to operate Roosevelt Hotel for three years. The agreement is expected to fetch $220 million, he said. As per a cabinet decision, the commission in consultation with the aviation ministry has developed terms of reference for a consortium to advise the government on the leasing of Roosevelt site for prospective mixed-use development through the best suited mode of privatisation.