ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has completed the baseline valuation of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York and is preparing to move forward with a transaction structure this month to privatize the state-owned property, the head of the Privatization Commission told Arab News this week.

The Roosevelt, a 1,015-room historic hotel in Midtown Manhattan, has long been one of Pakistan’s most prominent but politically sensitive overseas assets. Acquired by Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited (PIAIL) in 1979, the hotel occupies a full city block on Madison Avenue and 45th Street. Over the past two decades, successive Pakistani governments have floated plans to sell, lease, or redevelop the property, but no proposal has advanced beyond early-stage planning.

Operations at the Roosevelt were suspended in 2020 following steep financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Pakistan entered a short-term lease with the City of New York to use the property as a temporary shelter for asylum seekers, generating more than $220 million in projected rental income. That agreement ended in 2024 and no new revenue stream has since been announced.

“We have an idea of the asset valuation in Roosevelt,” Muhammad Ali, chairman of Pakistan’s Privatization Commission, said in an interview when asked about the timeline to privatize the hotel.

“We have appointed JLL [Jones Lang LaSalle], who are one of the top consultants in the US market. They have done their homework. They have done the market sounding also. We just need to get approval from the Cabinet Committee [on Privatization] on the structure, and we’ll move ahead.”

He added:

“So this year, before June, I’m hoping that on the Roosevelt, we will have gone ahead with execution of the transaction as far as whatever structure is decided.”

VALUATION AND TRANSACTION STRUCTURE

The Roosevelt, whose liabilities and losses the privatization chief did not disclose, is one of several state assets the government hopes will contribute to its target of raising Rs86 billion ($306 million) in privatization proceeds during the fiscal year starting July 1, alongside the sale of national carrier Pakistan International Airlines and three electricity distribution companies.

But how much money the hotel ultimately brings in, and its overall valuation, depended on the type of transaction structure adopted, Ali said.

If the government opted for a straightforward “as-is” sale and sold the property without securing any new permissions or approvals for zoning or development, the hotel would fetch the lowest price.

However, if the government first obtained the necessary permits and approvals that a buyer would typically need for redevelopment, the property’s value could double compared to the “as-is” sale.

Alternatively, if the government formed a joint venture with a private investor, sharing both the risks and future profits, the hotel could be worth four to five times more than its as-is valuation.

“So, depending on what sort of structure you have, how much risk you take, how much effort the government puts in, we can make a lot of money from this asset,” the privatization chief said. 

“If we go with a joint venture structure, then this year we will only get the first advance payment, so that’s a small amount of money which will be coming in [FY26].”

ISLAMABAD: At least four people were killed and 19 injured in rain-related incidents across Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province over the past 24 hours, the provincial disaster management authority said on Thursday, as monsoon downpours triggered building collapses and drownings in several districts.

The statement came as authorities in both Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa warned of continued rainfall through July 1, with Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issuing a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) alert for the country’s northern regions a day earlier.

“Two people died when weak, dilapidated structures collapsed in Okara and Bahawalnagar,” the Punjab PDMA said in a statement. “Two others drowned in separate incidents in Jhelum.”

Thirteen houses were also damaged in the province, mostly in rural or structurally vulnerable areas, the statement added.

Punjab’s disaster agency urged citizens to take precautionary measures and said financial compensation for the victims’ families would be provided under government policy.

Separately, the PDMA in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa warned of torrential rains and hailstorms in several districts from Thursday evening through July 1, with a risk of glacier bursts in the north.

It issued alerts to local administrations in Chitral, Swat, Upper and Lower Dir and Kohistan to initiate preemptive measures and inform nearby communities.

Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with a history of extreme weather events linked to erratic monsoon patterns, glacial melt and heatwaves.

In 2022, record floods killed over 1,700 people and caused more than $30 billion in damages.

On Wednesday, the NDMA said continued high temperatures and intense monsoon activity were putting stress on glacial lakes in Pakistan’s mountainous north, raising the risk of flash floods.

Valleys in Chitral and Ghizer are among the most vulnerable, with warnings issued to avoid travel near glaciers and riverbanks.