Roosevelt Hotel Earned More Than $7million In Three Years, Says Ghulam Sarwar

The Aviation Minister has rebuffed all the rumors circulating about PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel that it is being shut down. The Minister says that it is functional and is making profit.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Oct 27^th, 2020) Roosevelt Hotel owned by Pakistan International Airline (PIA) earned more than $7 million in last three years, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said on Tuesday.

In a written response, Ghulam Sarwar Khan said that it earned $2.447 million in 2017, $3.164 million in 2018 and $1.495 million in 2019.

He also rejected all rumors involving the state property in the US.

“All reports went viral on social media nothing more than speculation and political point-scoring,” said the minister.

He also said that the hotel’s management had taken out a loan of $160 million from JP Morgan bank and was making regular payments from its own revenue stream.

He went on to say that the balance outstanding at the moment was $105m.

Mr. Sarwar said that the hotel was currently operational and had valid contracts until December this year with a number of airlines. He also stated that multiple options were being considered for its future and all decisions were made collectively by the hotel’s board and the Government of Pakistan.

It may be mentioned here that Pakistan acquired the 19-storey building on partnership in 1979 in Manhattan—the financial hub of the US, and acquired 100 per cent shareholding in 1999. The hotel made profit till 2018.