KARACHI: Pakistan plans to redevelop its Roosevelt Hotel in New York into a high-rise building through a joint venture (JV) that could involve up to $5 billion in equity and debt financing, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s aide on privatization Muhammad Ali told Arab News on Friday.
The hotel, a century-old Manhattan property near Grand Central Terminal and Times Square, is one of Pakistan’s most valuable overseas assets and is owned by the state through Pakistan International Airlines.
Closed since 2020 due to losses, the hotel has been under review for years as successive governments have weighed whether to sell, lease or redevelop it while pursuing state-owned enterprise reforms linked to International Monetary Fund bailouts.
“The redevelopment project would require up to $5 billion equity and debt capital,” said Ali, who also chairs the Privatization Commission of Pakistan.
Ali said the government had decided against an outright sale of the property after a detailed study conducted last year showed the site could support a significantly larger structure, potentially rising to 60 stories.
