The government has finally leased out its precious asset in the United States —Roosevelt Hotel, a property of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) — to the New York City Administration for three years against USD 220m.
According to Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique, a contract has also been signed between the government and the NYC administration/government.
“After various exhaustive exercises, we finally succeeded in finding a way out to overcome the challenges to the country’s most precious asset/heritage in New York (USA). So we have signed a contract with the NYC administration to operate the hotel for three years. Under this contract, we will receive US $220m that will enable us to clear the hotel’s various liabilities besides earning handsome revenue for our country’s treasury,” the minister said while talking to journalists at a press conference here on Sunday.
“Since our property was already facing a threat of being landmarked, this contract has also saved it from such a big threat. Had the hotel fallen into the landmarks category, we would have been restricted from using it for the hotel purpose with the current 19-storey building alone that, after coming out of this danger, can now be used for a high-rise up to 40-storey with the change of business,” he maintained.