By Ariba Shahid
KARACHI, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Pakistan has agreed with the U.S. government to jointly redevelop New York’s Roosevelt Hotel, the government in Islamabad said on Thursday, allowing Islamabad to unlock value from its major overseas investment.
Restructuring and privatisation of state assets are central to Pakistan’s $7 billion programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the century-old hotel in Midtown Manhattan owned by Pakistan’s national airline plays a key role in those plans.
The hotel, which the cash- strapped south Asian nation has estimated could be worth more than $1 billion, has been closed since 2020 and is considered for redevelopment rather than outright sale.
The two countries signed a memorandum that outlines plans to cooperate on the operation, maintenance, renovation, and redevelopment of the hotel, a statement from Pakistan’s finance division said on Thursday.
“The objective remains to secure maximum value for this property in alignment with the government’s privatisation strategy while strengthening Pakistan-United States economic ties,” it said.
The ministry said the agreement was negotiated by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The memorandum, seen by Reuters, does not specify any financial terms and says the project “shall be facilitated by the United States General Services Administration and by the Pakistan Ministry of Defence.”
The U.S. General Services Administration primarily manages federal property and procurement for U.S. government agencies, and its publicly stated mandate does not typically include commercial redevelopment of foreign state-owned assets. It was not immediately clear under what authority the agency would facilitate the project.
Islamabad has been deepening its economic ties with Washington, including U.S. financing support for the Reko Diq copper and gold mining project in Pakistan’s Balochistan,, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently in Washington to attend the inaugural meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace.
(Reporting by Ariba Shahid; writing by Lucy Craymer; Editing by YP Rajesh, David Holmes and Tomasz Janowski)
Comments