Height restriction: CDA to seek waiver for two hotel buildings

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

By Syed Irfan Raza
Monday, 22 Mar, 2010
ISLAMABAD, March 21: The city managers have decided to approach Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to get a one-time waiver in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) laws for two under-construction five-star hotels so that they can construct their buildings up to 500 feet (45 storeys) height in accordance with their approved plans, a source in the Capital Development Authority (CDA) told Dawn.

Under the CAA laws, the maximum permissible height of buildings within the 15km radius of an airport is 500 feet.

The authority feels that if the height of the two hotels exceeds 500 feet, the view of the pilots, during landing and taking off, would be blocked. The federal capital falls within this restricted zone around Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

However, it is also a fact that the Margalla Hills having the highest peak of over 3,000 feet are also located in the same zone. The decision to seek the waiver was taken by the CDA board in a recent meeting with a view to safeguard both local and foreign investment involved in the construction of the two hotels — Hilton under hotel/apartment complex called Centaurus which is being executed by Pak-Gulf Constructions, and Grand Hyatt being built by a group called BNP.

“The CDA will first approach the ministry of defence and then a summary would be sent to the prime minister for one-time waiver in the restriction of 500 feet for the hotels,” a senior official of the CDA told Dawn.

The plot for hotel/apartment complex near Blue Area was auctioned in January 2007 at the highest ever price for any commercial plot - Rs6.5 billion - while the BNP won the plot close to Jinnah Convention Centre during the same auction for Rs4.88 billion. The CDA had promised that the successful bidders would be provided all facilities and services for their projects, and also approved their plans which required over 40 storeys. However, at that time nobody new the permissible skyline for highrise buildings in the capital because it was for the first time that over 20-storey buildings were being built in the city.

The projects were also advertised in the media but the CAA did not stop them at that time. Some experts suggested that CAA should have published an advertisement to restrict the height of the buildings to 500 feet.

“Unfortunately, no air nautical survey of Islamabad has ever been conducted by the CDA in collaboration with the relevant authorities; as a result, nobody knows the exact skyline for highrises,” a senior official of the CDA said.

On the other hand, one of the owners of BNP group, Hafez Sheikh said if the restriction was implemented their 45-storey hotel would have to be restricted to 30 storeys.

He said the CDA was fully cooperating with their group and had assured it that more land would be provided to it if the prime minister did not approve the waiver.

The owner of the other under-construction five-star hotel - Centaurus - Sardar Tanvir Ilyas said the restriction would badly affect foreign investment in his project.