ISLAMABAD: Pakistan could expect much higher foreign exchange proceeds from the sale of the Roosevelt Hotel — an upscale property in New York’s Manhattan district with an improved mix-use sell-off transaction proposed by US advisers.

But pre-qualified bidders for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have expressed concerns over the European Union’s ban on Pakistani airlines, which could affect the bid price for the national flag carrier that is currently up for sale.

This was the crux of a news briefing on Wednesday, led by Privatisation Minister Abdul Aleem Khan and federal secretaries of the privatisation division and privatisation commission, Jawad Paul and Usman Bajwa, respectively.

Mr Bajwa said that Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) a Chicago-based global real estate services firm hired to advise on the privatisation structure — had submitted a comprehensive due diligence report to the government and proposed three options.

The report suggested that floor area ratio (FAR) of the building currently stood at 1:15 (650,000 sq. feet retail area) which could be doubled to 1:30 (about 1.3 million sq. feet), thus increasing the retail sellable area, with support from the metropolitan authorities and secondary market.

“The increase in Roosevelt’s FAR provides a difference of a few billion dollars,” chipped in minister Aleem Khan who said that real estate was one area he could claim significant personal expertise, unlike other entities on the the privatisation list. He said he was not talking about a few billion dollars as the total value of Roosevelt but the additional value because of the higher floor area ratio — a term used for the covered area for construction.

“I may not be as expert as the expert advisers (JLL) but I would be personally responsible for even a loss of a single rupee in the Roosevelt transaction against its true potential and best value,” said the minister who himself operates one of the leading real estate businesses in at least three major cities, including Islamabad.

The cabinet had approved a joint venture option with international investors for mix-use development. “We now have to tell them what are the transaction options” for which the report would be taken up with the federal cabinet, said Mr Bajwa, explaining that these could include an outright sale, long-term lease, or joint venture operations depending on all the pros and cons, including but not limited to maximum proceeds over a period of time.

Mr Bajwa said the privatisation commission would take up the JLL’s report to the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) for a decision and was targeting to invite expressions of interest (EOIs) by the first week of August. “We are ready to go to CCoP,” he said.