Jinnah Convention Centre: Three Consortiums selected as financial adviser for sell-off

Privatisation Commission (PC) has selected Consortium of EY Ford Rhodes, Haidermota & Co and Oceanic Surveyor Pvt Ltd as financial adviser for privatisation of Jinnah Convention Centre.

According to details, six bids were received for FA for Jinnah Convention Centre Islamabad. The three short listed consortiums are: Consortium of EY Ford Rhodes, Haidermota & Co and Oceanic Surveyor Pvt Ltd; Consortium of MCB Bank Limited, colliers Int Pakistan Pvt Ltd, RIAA Barker Gillette and Consortium of Riaz Ahmad & Co, CKR & ZIA and Anderson Consulting Pvt Ltd.

The evaluation report shows that Consortium of EY Ford Rhodes, Haidermota & Co and Oceanic Surveyor Pvt Ltd has obtained 100 marks in technical and financial bids. Consortium of MCB Bank Limited, Colliers Int Pakistan Pvt Ltd and RIAA Barker Gillette stood second with 96.86 points and Consortium of Riaz Ahmad & Co, CKR & ZIA and Anderson Consulting Pvt Ltd scored third position with 79.46 points.

On August 8, 2019, Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet gave go-ahead to the Privatisation Commission to fast-track the privatisation of Jinnah Convention Centre Islamabad.

The convention centre was on the active list of privatization envisaging 100 percent share 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; 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.

The official maintained that it was true that the center did suffer losses but that was until 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 privatisation of Convention Centre was 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.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019