Pakistan launches five-year plan to privatise 24 state-owned enterprises

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: The government has launched an ambitious five-year plan to privatise 24 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), aiming to boost efficiency and ease the financial strain of loss-making public companies, a minister said on Thursday.

In a written reply to the National Assembly during Question Hour on Thursday, Federal Minister for Privatisation Abdul Aleem Khan presented a detailed roadmap for the privatisation program, which will unfold in three phases between 2024 and 2029.

“The federal government has decided to privatise 24 state-owned enterprises in three phases in five years,” Khan said. The minister outlined that the first phase, set to occur within the next year, will involve the privatization of several key entities, such as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Roosevelt Hotel, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), PIA Investment Limited (PIA-IL) associated with the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, First Women Bank Limited (FWBL), House Building Finance Corporation, Pakistan Engineering Company (PECO), Sindh Engineering Limited (SEL), Islamabad Electric Supply Company Limited (IESCO), and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company Limited (FESCO). “The plan outlines that 10 entities will be privatised in the first year,” Khan said.

In the second phase, spanning one to three years, the government plans to privatise additional entities, including the Utility Stores Corporation, four power generation companies—Jamshoro Power Company Ltd (JPCL), Central Power Generation Co Ltd (CPGCL), Northern Power Generation Co Ltd (NPGCL), and Lakhra Power Generation Co Ltd (LPGCL)—as well as Pakistan Re-Insurance Co Ltd (PRCL), State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC), and six electricity distribution companies: Gujranwala Electric Power Company Limited (GEPCO), Lahore Electric Supply Company Limited (LESCO), Multan Electric Power Company Limited (MEPCO), Hazara Electric Supply Company Limited (HAZECO), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company Limited (HESCO), Peshawar Electric Supply Company Limited (PESCO), and Sukkur Electric Power Company Limited (SEPCO).

The final phase, expected to take between three to five years, will focus solely on the privatisation of the Postal Life Insurance Company. “The privatisation of one remaining entity is expected to take between three to five years,” the minister said. He stressed that the initiative is a cornerstone of the government’s broader economic reform agenda. “The move is part of the government’s broader economic reform agenda aimed at improving efficiency and reducing the financial burden of loss-making public enterprises.”