Fauji Fertiliser Becomes Part of Arif Habib Consortium’s PIA Deal

ISLAMABAD: The Arif Habib Consortium has announced that Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited has joined its group, which secured a 75 per cent majority stake in Pakistan International Airlines after submitting the highest bid of Rs135 billion in the privatisation auction of the national carrier.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the consortium said Fauji Fertiliser’s inclusion would strengthen the airline through financial backing and corporate expertise. The company will also become part of PIA’s management structure alongside the Arif Habib Consortium. The statement added that the consortium plans to invest Rs125 billion during the first year to improve ground handling, operations, and overall service standards.

According to the consortium, there are also plans to significantly expand PIA’s fleet by increasing the number of operational aircraft from the current 18 to 62.

Earlier, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali told Reuters that, subject to regulatory approvals, the government expects the new owners to begin operating the airline by April. The privatisation process will now move to final approvals from the Privatisation Commission Board and the federal cabinet, which are expected within days. Contract signing is likely within two weeks, followed by a 90-day period to achieve financial close and meet legal and regulatory requirements.

Ali said the transaction was designed to inject fresh capital into PIA rather than merely transfer ownership. He stressed that the objective was to ensure the airline’s revival and sustainability, not to sell it off and allow it to fail afterward.

The auction, held on Tuesday, marked Pakistan’s first major privatisation in nearly 20 years and is part of broader reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme aimed at restructuring loss-making state enterprises.

Read more: Private Airlines Face Challenges After PIA Privatisation, NA Committee Told

During the bidding process, the Arif Habib and Lucky Cement–led consortia advanced to the open auction stage after offering more than the reference price of Rs100 billion, while private airline Airblue withdrew after submitting a bid of Rs26.5 billion. In the open auction, Lucky Cement raised its bid from Rs101.5 billion to Rs115.5 billion, while Arif Habib responded with Rs121 billion. After a short recess, Lucky Cement increased its offer to Rs134 billion, which was immediately topped by Arif Habib’s final bid of Rs135 billion.

Meanwhile, the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) has rejected the privatisation, describing the process as rushed and lacking transparency. The alliance termed the federal government “illegal” and warned that all such transactions could face future review and scrutiny.

In its policy statement, the opposition said PIA is a national asset built with public resources and collective effort over decades, and argued that any attempt to privatise it without public mandate, parliamentary oversight, transparency, and constitutional legitimacy is politically and morally unacceptable.