CDA resumes first joint venture with a private firm in northern strip of sector E-11

[LahoreEstate]

ISLAMABAD (APP) The construction work on first-ever joint venture of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) with a private firm in northern strip of sector E-11 has resumed that was suspended by the ‘overactive’ authority about a couple of months ago, misinterpreting an apex court ruling.
“The contractor has been asked to resume work after the Supreme Court said repeatedly that it never ordered to suspend the construction activity. Above 40 percent development work was already completed and rest would take another couple of months to complete,” said the official.
He said a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, hearing the suo moto, never ordered to halt construction work but it was ascertaining if there was any irregularity in the award of contract to the Multi Professional Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS).
The CDA had signed a first-ever public private partnership project with the MPCHS and basic purpose was to get the land vacated from the adverse position of locals those could not be tackled by the Authority. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court took suo moto following a report alleging that the contract was not signed transparently.
Work on the first ever-ever public private partnership project was initiated last year. The private partner was supposed to vacate the land and develop it at the cost of Rs 190 million.
As per agreement, both parties would share plots, under 43/57 formula, to be created after the vacation of area stretching to 54 acres and 20.52 acres and 15.46 acres have been reserved as saleable area to be acquired by the CDA and MPCHS respectively.

The CDA Board headed by former Chairman Tariq Mehmood Khan had signed the contract with MPCHS in December last year and under the agreement the private partner had also got vacated 432 kanals after paying compensation to 900 land owners.
The contract to construct roads and other infrastructure and division of plots was awarded to M/s M. Ayub and Brothers in July and a consultant was also hired to conduct a survey of the scheme to finalise the engineering design of the project.
Under the joint venture, a five star hotel would be constructed just on three-minute drive from F-10 Markaz and six plots each would be reserved for residential towers of up to 15 storeys and public buildings. Sixty-two plots would be available for house construction and 14 plots would be specified for commercial buildings.
The official said though this joint venture is a pilot project by the authority, yet it is expected to generate billions of rupees from the auction of residential plots and commercial areas that includes a five star-hotel, exhibition center, museum, a supper mart, hospital, education enclave and a filling station.
If set targets are achieved, the CDA would promote this idea and execute several such projects in joint ventures with local and international firms as the incumbent CDA chief is strongly opposed to the sale of precious land asset to run the affairs.


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