The government is initiating a programme to privatise a number of public institutions to make them profitable, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan told the media on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, flanked by Minister for Privatisation Mohammad Mian Soomro and Secretary Privatisation Commission Rizwan Malik, Awan said that Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) laws and court orders are going to be kept in mind in the process of privatisation, as per Prime Minister Imran Khan's 2018 vision.

Addressing the press conference, Soomro said, "A strategic cell (for privatisation) has been created in the country after alapse of 10 years. The privatisation commission is based on the prime minister's 2018 vision."

"There are five federal government properties in Lahore which will be used to make cheap housing available to the public," the privatisation minister said.

Both the privatisation minister and secretary said that Pakistan Steel Mills is being turned into a profitable institution once more and the process for its privatisation will be completed by the end of the year. "A legal adviser has been appointed for Pakistan Steel Mills," Malik said.

The privatisation secretary said that foreign companies are showing growing interest in the current government's policies.

"The process of privatisation seems slow but we are working as fast as we can to make it happen and at least six institutions will be privatised this year," Malik said while adding that the Services Hotel Lahore, SME Bank and two power plants are going to be privatised by the year's end.

"The process of auctioning off underutilised state land is also underway and the money procured from these auctions will be used to pay off the national debt," the secretary told the media while adding that public land will be used for the public's benefit.

Briefing the media, Malik said that some institutions that are set to be privatised are not in loss, "but their profitability is not up to market standards".