Senate panel irked by two-decade delay in transfer of Karachi's Hyatt Regency

• Committee asks Privatisation Commission to approach railways to issue NOC to purchaser; officials say matter is ‘subject to litigation’• Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad airports to be outsourced to improve efficiency, body told• Officials say 33 PIA properties transferred to holding company, 11 to remain with airline

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Tuesday expressed serious displeasure that Karachi’s landmark Hyatt Regency Hotel building could not be transferred to the purchaser in more than two decades and ordered settlement of the issue at the earliest.

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation, presided over by Senator Afnanullah, was reviewing the matter relating to the abandoned building of the hotel. The Privatisation Division officials reported that the property was privatised in 2004 for Rs530 million, while a decision was taken in 2003 to convert the building into a National Commodity Exchange.

“The committee was informed that despite full payment by the purchaser, the transfer of lease has remained unresolved for more than two decades due to the absence of a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Pakistan Railways and subsequent legal proceedings,” said the Senate secretariat after the meeting. The committee also discussed privatisation of airports, power companies, and the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).