Privatisation Commission (PC) will hire services of Financial Advisor (FA) for the privatisation of Jinnah Convention Centre located at a prime location near Constitution Avenue Islamabad till July 19. Firms and corporate finance firms have been asked to submit their expression of interests (EoIs).
The convention centre is the only government property on the list of privatization that envisages 100 percent of its shares transfer to potential buyer(s) upon acquisition. The money to be generated through its sale will be utilized by Capital Development Authority (CDA) on development projects, sources said. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had considered auctioning the convention centre in 2014-15 in the hope of raising revenue of Rs 10 billion to Rs 15 billion. However the plan did not materialize.
Convention Center has been on the list of privatisation for a long while due to its heavy losses estimated at Rs 56 to 60 million per annum. The land on which the convention centre was built is owned by the CDA. And for the federal government to initiate the privatisation process it is essential that it has ownership of the land, sources told this correspondent.
An official of CDA on condition of anonymity said the convention center is not a white elephant like PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills. It's a symbolic building that has been successfully meeting its expenditure, including utility bills, staff salaries and maintenance. They said the CDA had been earning around Rs 20 million per annum by renting out different facilities in the building.
The official maintained that it was true that the center did suffer losses but that was until till 2004 when the government did not allow private conferences or functions in the building. The building became profitable after a revised policy in 2014 and CDA began renting out the conference rooms and halls for exhibitions, conferences, seminars and other functions to private organisations, universities, and non-governmental organizations, he added.
The rent of the main hall is Rs 300,000 for a single day. Almost all government and private universities use it to hold their annual convocation ceremonies, while education expos are also a regular feature. The government also holds major ceremonies in the center throughout the year to mark national days, like August 14, March 23 and September 6 respectively.
The privatisation of Convention Centre has already been approved by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) during previous administrations. Spread over several acres, the covered area of the building is 202,075 square feet. Several halls and galleries have a seating capacity of 2,200 at a time, while the three parking lots have a total capacity of over 600 cars. The building also houses five committee rooms and 32 smaller conference rooms.
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