Dar for expediting privatisation of Roosevelt Hotel in New York
Business
He chaired a meeting of cabinet committee on privatisation
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has asked authorities to expedite privatisation of Pakistan-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York, Pakistani state media reported on Tuesday, amid Islamabad’s efforts to streamline its fragile $350 billion economy, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
Roosevelt Hotel, a 19-storey building located at a prime location in New York, was inaugurated in Manhattan on September 22, 1924.
Named after the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, Pakistan’s national airline leased it in 1979 through the Pakistan International Airlines Investments Limited (PIA-IL).
The hotel closed its doors to guests in Dec. 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the tourism industry worldwide. In 2023, New York City (NYC) administration struck a $220 million, three-year deal with PIA to convert the hotel into a shelter, as per a report in The New York Times.
On Tuesday, Dar presided over a meeting of Pakistan’s federal cabinet committee on privatization in Islamabad to review the progress of the ongoing privatization initiatives, including that of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Deputy Prime Minister urged the Privatization Commission to fast track the privatization process of the Roosevelt Hotel,” the report read.
Roosevelt Hotel and PIA are among the main entities Pakistan is pushing to privatize as part of economic reforms undertaken by Islamabad under its loan agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a $7 billion extended funds facility agreed in Sept being the latest such bailout.
