Cash-strapped RDA begins selling plots

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Aamir Yasin
RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on Wednesday auctioned two commercial plots in main city for Rs 32.5 million. An official says on condition of anonymity that the cash-strapped authority has plans to sell off more assets including plots to generate money for ongoing and future projects including RDA Housing Scheme and Business Heights. He says feasibility studies of RDA Housing Scheme and Business Heights have been completed and work on these projects will kickoff soon after the required funds pour into the authority’s kitty. However, RDA Director General Makeen Shahbaz insists no more plots are to be put up for sale in the days ahead. He told Daily Times that the money generated from the sell-off of two commercial plots would be used for building the Rs 1.5 billion proposed parking plaza at Fwara Chowk. According to him, a 23-marla Sherpao Colony plot was sold out for Rs 0.7 million per marla and an 18-marla Saidpur Road plot near Haily Waterworks for Rs 1.1 million per marla. He said the authority earned Rs 166.75 million from the sale of Sherpao Colony plot and Rs 198 million from that of Saidpur Road plot. He said National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) had submitted the proposed plaza’s design to the RDA for approval. Makeen said the RDA had allocated Rs 90 million for the construction of three storeys and basement of the plaza under its annual development plan. He said the remaining two storeys would be raised during the next fiscal. He said the RDA would build the parking plaza from its own resources. According to him, the quakeproof multi-storeyed structure spread over four kanals will have a parking capacity of at least 1,000 vehicles and motorcycles at a time. He said a bus terminal would also be established on the parking plaza’s ground floor.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg11_4