CDA: Foreign firm to complete I-15 Vertical City in 3 years

[LahoreEstate]

Monday, November 23, 2009
Islamabad

Contract for development of Sector I-15 Vertical City will be awarded to a foreign firm within few months, as cash-strapped CDA is to raise revenue of Rs40 billion under this project of public-private partnership.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has offered 200 acres of land for the development of long-stalled residential Sector I-15 in which three Chinese and a UAE firm had shown interest, official sources said.

“We had no other option but to develop the sector with public-private partnership. If we have had enough resources, the sector could have been developed much earlier,” a CDA official said.

He said under the plan, the CDA would bear only 40 per cent cost of Rs40 billion project while the remaining 60 per cent would be borne by the private partner.

The official said that four international firms have applied for pre-qualification including China National Machinery and Equipment, Shanghai Construction Group, China State Construction Engineering Corporation and JV Techno Paal Group, a UAE-based joint venture.

According to the official, the annual turnover of at least two billion dollars and experience of two or three such projects within last five years are the pre-requisite for pre-qualification.

The interested firms should also have the capacity to finance at least 60 per cent of project cost on seven to ten years deferred payment basis.

He said the process to scrutinise firms is in progress and would be completed within a day or two. The authority has constituted a committee headed by Member Finance Saeed-ur Rehman to examine scope of the project and hopefully, the contract would be finalized within a coupe of months.

According to the official sources, the authority is planning to offer more than 200 acres of land to the international firms against the development of the sector. It is also expected that the partnership would bring Rs40 billion revenue to the funds-scarce CDA. The Authority had launched Sector I-15 in 2005 with an aim to provide residential facilities to almost 14,000 families but it has remained in limbo since then for want of finances. The sector I-15, spread over 746 acres, has 5,500 plots measuring 25x50 sq yard and 30x60 sq yard in addition to about 8,000 flats. The Authority is also mulling to increase the number of condominium-styled housing units to 10,000 by raising number of floors.

Under the plan, the sector would be named as `Vertical City’ permitting to have high-rise residential towers and to cater to the traffic needs, an expressway would also be constructed to link the area with other parts of the city.

The official said under the new contract, the authority would emphasise completion of the project within 36 months as civic body is under immense pressure, particularly after Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has directed it to ensure timely development of stalled sectors.

Initially, the CDA had awarded contract for sector’s development to M/s Al-Khan Construction Company in 2005, owned by the then federal minister for health but the contractor failed to complete the project and later was blacklisted.

http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=210040